Edited by Keith Redman

Topics covered in this edition include:

• Professional Learning in the Pilbara
• 1:1 Laptop Learning Hub
• Cognitive Coaching SM: Training programs in Northern Territory and Victoria
• Dimensions of Learning Hubs in 2010
• Feedback from DoL Staff Development Days around Australia
• Act quickly to register for the 2010 Interactive Whiteboard (IWB) Hub in Victoria
• An external program of interest: Share-a-Book
• A contact of possible interest for on-line computer training
• Some interesting reading

Welcome to the first ANSN E-News for 2010.

This Snapshot outlines the background of African students now in schools in Australia and discusses the need for teach

Tina Doe, August 2009

To conclude its 3-day program, the Nudgee Dimensions of Learning (DoL) Advanced Hub held its Showcase day on Monday 27 July.

The following short reports of presentations during the day illustrate the breadth and depth of work that the participants undertook, and which they presented to their peers. Conceptualised and elaborated during the initial two days of this action learning Hub, the projects were individual or school team-based, and contextualised to the learning site and the relevant DoL priority/incentive.

Dr Julianne Lynch, a Senior Lecturer at Deakin University, is a member of the Gender and Information Technology (GaIT) 1 national project research team.

In this ANSN Snapshot from Research, Dr Lynch refers to findings from the GaIT study, to draw our attention to:

• the declining student interest in studying Information Technology (IT) subjects;
• the persistent gender gap in enrolments in IT subjects at school and university; and
• issues related to school IT education that might contribute to the gender gap and to the more general decline in participation in this area of study.

Adria is a Year 5-6 teacher at Westbreen Primary School in Victoria.

Westbreen Primary School is in Glenroy, in the Northern Metropolitan Region of Melbourne. It is a small school, with around 250 students. There are twelve interactive whiteboards (IWBs) – one in every classroom, from Prep to Year 6 – and they are networked.

When I joined the ANSN IWB Hub at the start of 2008, I had little experience of using an IWB – not much more than having had a “play” with it, really.

Learning to Use Interactive Whiteboards in the Classroom

Dean was a Year 5-6 teacher in 2008, and in 2009 is Middle Years Team Leader, at Mackellar Primary School in Victoria.

Mackellar Primary School is in Delahey, a western suburb of Melbourne. We are a very multi-cultural school, with around 800 students. In 2009 they will be in 30 classes.

Keith Redman, Editor of ANSN E-News, interviewed Gavin Grift for this ANSN Snapshot, which has been developed from that conversation, using a range of Hub documentation. The Snapshot also includes comment and insights from a draft paper by Anne Clement, a colleague of Gavin Grift’s, who was involved in the development of the Curriculum Planning Hub

Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself.
John Dewey

John Spierings at the ANSN ForumFollowing advocacy from the ANSN Board, the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Education and Training has established an inquiry titled "Combining school and work: Supporting successful youth transitions". Teachers, parents, employers and schools are encouraged to make submissions to the Committee, and students are especially asked to check into the Inquiry web-site, and complete a short questionnaire designed to tap into their experiences.

By Hanan Harrison

Participants of the Adelaide Digi Kids continued to be challenged on their digital journey when they attended Days 3 and 4 of their Hub workshops. Their first challenge was to develop and create a claymation. The focus was not only to develop skills for the production, but also to develop a philosophy of technology integration where participants would reflect critically on their own pedagogical practices, to develop a meaningful context for introducing claymation as an additional medium for story telling, which could be used to support various literacy outcomes including recount, narratives and procedural genres, as well as a tool for reinforcing other curriculum outcomes.

The 2 day Digi-Kids workshop was enjoyed by all participants over the school holidays.  Big thanks to Hanan Harrison and the ANSN (Australian National Schools Network) for presenting, as well as Mary Vajda from ECU for hosting the sessions.  The participants certainly had a good time and came away with an enormous amount of open ended ideas to implement into their classroom next term.