Edited by Keith Redman

Topics covered in this edition include:

• ANSN Snapshot #2 for 2010: A whole-school approach to integrating the use of interactive whiteboards in a secondary college
• Dimensions of Learning (DoL): Advanced professional learning sessions in NT
• Dimensions of Learning (DoL) professional learning opportunities in QLD
• Dimensions of Learning: Report on the Mackay Introductory Hub sessions
• Hanan Harrison’s book Teaching our Digi Kids: Positive feedback
• ANSN Interactive Whiteboards Hub activities in Victoria
• New 1:1 Laptop Learning Hub to start in Term 3 in VIC
• Reminder about Cognitive CoachingSM sessions in Brisbane, 2010/2011
• Reminder about Cognitive CoachingSM training courses scheduled in Victoria
• ANSN website redesign: Link to Connecting Lives and Learning
• Thoughts on the nature of leadership
• Some interesting reading

ANSN Snapshot #2 for 2010: A whole-school approach to integrating the use of interactive whiteboards in a secondary college

ANSN has just published its second Snapshot for the year. Like its predecessor this one focuses on the use of interactive whiteboards (IWBs) in the secondary school context. During 2009, a team of six secondary teachers from Staughton College, in Melton South, Victoria, participated in the ANSN Hub for Interactive Whiteboards (IWBs). As December 2009 drew to a close, two of the team, Tim Howarth and Christine Lambrianidis (below, left and centre) reflected on their experience during the year, in an interview with Keith Redman, Editor of ANSN E-News. They talked about what they had learned and how they had adapted and shared their learning in a whole-school context.

  

In May, 2010, a second interview traced the school’s use of IWBs in the first half of this year. This ANSN Snapshot is drawn from those interviews and provides examples of flipcharts that they have used in their classrooms (see above, right). To read or download the Snapshot, click here.

Dimensions of Learning (DoL): Advanced professional learning sessions in NT

Tina Doe already has one Advanced DoL Hub running in the Northern territory. Due to demand, she will now be starting a second Advanced DoL Hub, which will combine some its sessions with the original Hub.It’s not too late to book in. This is a significant opportunity for Northern Territory educators who want to reinvigorate their DoL practice and/or deepen their DoL knowledge and leadership. Tina will facilitate the sessions, which will be staged at CDU Casuarina campus. Dates are as follows.

Day 1 Advanced DoL, Hub #2 only: Tuesday14th September 
Day 2: Advanced DoL, Hubs #1 & #2 together:  Wednesday 15th September
Day 5, Showcase, Hubs #1 & #2 together: Friday 5th November

To register, please contact Tina at tina.doe@ansn.edu.au or by mobile at 0421 440 725.

 

Dimensions of Learning (DoL) professional learning opportunities in QLD

The next ANSN 5-day Introductory DoL Hub will be offered at Kenmore SHS (Brisbane). The next Advanced DoL Hub will be at Mooloolaba SS (Sunshine Coast). Participants in the two Hubs will explore different aspects and applications of DoL as a comprehensive learning framework – a “thinking” approach to learning. Details of the dates and locations are as follows. Please note that the dates for the first two days have changed from those previously advertised.

Introductory 5 Day Hub
Location: Kenmore SHS (Brisbane), 60 Aberfeldy Street, Kenmore 4069

Day 1 & 2	Days 3 & 4	Day 5
20th & 21st July	18th & 19th August	6th October

Advanced 3 day DoL Hub – Mooloolaba SS

Days 1 and 2	Day 3
12th and 13th of August	19th October

To register for these Hub workshops download the Dimensions of Learning fliers on the ANSN website (www.ansn.edu.au) or click here. 

Alternatively, if you have queries or want further details, email Hanan Harrison (hanan.harrison@ansn.edu.au) or phone 0407 464472.

 

Dimensions of Learning: Report on the Mackay Introductory Hub sessions

Hanan Harrison (below, left) reports that a number of schools in Mackay, North Queensland, participated in a 2-day introductory workshop for Dimensions of Learning.  What participants liked about the workshop was how timely it was in relation to the strategic direction of the Queensland education department, which is asking schools to focus explicitly on the development of a thinking curriculum and how students learn. Workshop participants are shown working in groups (below centre and right).  

  

A selection of feedback from the Mackay participants when asked what they liked about the workshop, included the following.

• “I liked the actual tools and applications shown in the 2 workshop days – I could see how I could use many of these in the classroom (especially teaching vocab and being explicit in the teaching of these)”
• “I liked the demonstrations and practice of strategies and their relevance to our students”
• “I liked the practical uses of tools - to see their use and to implement, not just talk about them as what is done in so many other workshops”
• “I feel like a sponge!  I have soaked up lots of relevant info!!”

For further details, email Hanan Harrison (hanan.harrison@ansn.edu.au) or phone 0407 464472.

 

Hanan Harrison’s book Teaching our Digi Kids: Positive feedback

Feedback on Hanan Harrison’s book, Teaching our Digi Kids: Stories, Strategies and Skills to Help Early Childhood Teachers Integrate Technology in their Classrooms, published in April by ANSN, has been very positive.

Teachers of early childhood students have commented on its immediate application in their classrooms, helping them find ways to integrate technologies across the curriculum and providing them with hands-on tools, ideas and materials.

To order your copy, click here

 

ANSN Interactive Whiteboards Hub activities in Victoria

Andrea Federico (below left) reports that the two-day Interactive Whiteboard (IWB) Hub based at University Park Primary School (formally St Albans South Primary School), has gone well (see below, centre and right).

    

Participants reflected on what they needed to know about using IWBs, undertook training in hands-on skills, explored the available resources and undertook action planning for their Hub work on the first day. A month later, on 28 May they came together for the second day, to share the projects they had worked on in their own schools, and to reflect on what they had learned.

For more details about the work of IWB Hubs, or to express interest in attending future Hub activities, email Andrea Federico at: andrea.federico@ansn.edu.au

 

New 1:1 Laptop Learning Hub to start in Term 3 in VIC

Jill Reading (below, left) reports that a new 1:1 Laptop Learning Hub will commence in Term 3. Below centre, participants in the inaugural Hub, earlier this year, worked collaboratively to design student learning opportunities.

    

This hub is designed for educators who want to develop their teaching repertoire for classes where each student has a laptop, or for teachers who access a trolley of laptops that are used in a 1:1 learning situation. Membership of the 4-day Hub would also suit schools that are considering going to a 1:1 laptop program in an area of the school.

The venue for the Hub will be ANSN’s work site at Williamstown Primary School, Cecil St, Williamstown, VIC. The dates are as follows.

Day 1, Thursday August 12th, 2010
Day 2, Thursday September 9th 2010
Day 3, Wednesday October 13th 2010
Day 4, Thursday November 11th, 2010

For further details, and to register, click here

To explore the possibilities of having a Hub established for schools in your own area, contact Jill Reading by mobile on 0403 131503 or email her at
jill.reading@ansn.edu.au. For more details of what the Hub offers, check the ANSN website at www.ansn.edu.au/1_1_laptop_learning_hub_2010

 

Reminder about Cognitive CoachingSM sessions in Brisbane, 2010/2011

Have you booked your place yet for the Cognitive CoachingSM training sessions that are scheduled for Brisbane? As advised in the previous edition of E-News, they will be split over 2 school years, with the first 4 days of training from 25–28 October 2010 and the remaining 4 days in Term 1 of 2011 (on dates to be confirmed).

The eight days of Foundation training provided by ANSN offer a hands-on, reflective process, where participants build their understanding about being a cognitive coach within a school context. Participants practise and internalise effective strategies that provide educators with skills and dispositions to build high levels of communication for supporting colleagues – in leadership teams, coaching partnerships, mentoring relationships or teaching related issues. The power of Cognitive CoachingSM lies in the applicability of the knowledge and skills to any context – professional or personal – in which educators may work.

You can read about Cognitive CoachingSM in detail at www.cognitivecoaching.com. If you have questions or if you wish to discuss the benefits for you and your school, please email Gavin Grift (who in addition to his work with ANSN is now Director of Professional Learning at Hawker Brownlow Professional Learning Solutions) at ggrift@hbe.com.au or contact Gavin on his mobile at 0458 094 050.

 

Reminder about Cognitive CoachingSM training courses scheduled in Victoria

Don’t forget, ANSN has a further range of Foundation and Advanced training programs for Cognitive CoachingSM, all offered in association with Hawker Brownlow Professional Learning Solutions. The following opportunities are still open for registration in Victoria.

8-Day Cognitive CoachingSM FOUNDATION Training in Bendigo, Victoria
13th–16th August, 2010 and 15th–18th October, 2010
For further details, and to register, click here

8-Day Cognitive CoachingSM FOUNDATION Training in Brighton, Victoria
27th–30th July 2010 and 20th–23rd September 2010
For further details, and to register, click here

5-Day Cognitive CoachingSM ADVANCED training in Brighton, Victoria
Tuesday 29th June to Saturday 3rd July 2010

  

The advanced training sessions will be presented by Sue Presler (above, left), with Michael Dolcemascolo (above, centre), formerly Assistant Director of Staff Development for the 23 school districts surrounding the city of Syracuse in central New York. Now an independent consultant, Michael specialises in mentoring coaches. For further details, and to register, click here

If you have questions about any of these programs, or wish to discuss the benefits for you and your school, please email Gavin Grift (above, right) at ggrift@hbe.com.au or contact him by mobile at 0458 094 050.

 

ANSN website redesign: Link to Connecting Lives and Learning

The ANSN website improvement program continues. Have a look occasionally, at www.ansn.edu.au/ and send any feedback to John.Hogan@bigpond.com.

In the meantime, John reports that The Connecting Lives and Learning website link on the ANSN website has been reshaped to be a web and/or CD resource. Originally it was created as a resource in partnership with a professional learning and research circle activity. Now any user of the ANSN website can read about the background of the work, see some examples of the website and download a form to purchase the materials and access to the website.

The link is http://www.ansn.edu.au/connecting_lives_and_learning_resource_website or just go to www.ansn.edu.au and click on exploring new ideas and then click on connecting lives and learning.

Among a number of useful resources and stories about the project and associated classroom practice, you will find an introduction to action research involving teachers.

Thoughts on the nature of leadership

More generally, John Hogan writes to say that recently he noticed the chapter headings in a book about leadership and social justice (the name of which escapes him). As he says, the headings don’t look like the usual leadership prescriptions, but he likes them. They are:
Learning to be open to the contributions of others...
Learning to support the growth of others....
Learning collective leadership....
Learning to analyse experience....
Learning to question....
Learning democracy....
Learning to sustain hope in the midst of struggle....
Learning to create community... 

Any comments?

 

Some interesting reading

Australian Policy Online (APO) draws our attention to the following items. (To read or download one, Ctrl + click on the link).

Helping teachers to explore multimodal texts

Writing in Curriculum Leadership, Michele Anstey and Geoff Bull identify areas of professional learning that are of particular value for integrating multimedia and multimodal texts into classroom practice. They also suggest ways to introduce related professional learning in schools.

Smartphones give you wings: pedagogical affordance of mobile Web 2.0

This paper, from the Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, outlines the potential of the integration of mobile Web 2.0 tools (based around smartphones) to facilitate social constructivist pedagogies and engage students (particularly in tertiary education).

Using wikis for collaborative learning: Assessing collaboration through contribution

Simon Cropper, Gregor Kennedy and Terry Judd, writing in the Australasian Journal of Educational Technology argue that while wikis include features that are designed to facilitate collaboration, it does not necessarily follow that their use will ensure or even encourage collaborative learning behaviour.

Linking schools and early years: project evaluation: evaluation framework 2010-2013

In this Social Policy Research Centre report Kylie Valentine and Ilan Katz outline the evaluation framework for the Linking Schools and Early Years Project, which is designed to ensure that all children enter the formal education system are ready to engage with the many opportunities offered by their new learning environment.

What teachers want: better teacher management

Ben Jensen from the Grattan Institute reports on research findings about teachers' views on the evaluation of their work and the development of their teaching, and how this impacts upon school education.

Inside Story brings our attention to the following.

NAPLAN and the states: an intriguing result
Dahle Suggett suggests that whatever NAPLAN's limitations, it does provide intriguing information about how different school systems perform.