enews 30 October 2007 - Vol. 2, No. 11

Topics covered in this edition include:
  • Report from the Better Together: Schools & Communities Workshops
  • Report on the 2007 ANSN national forum
  • Learning Management Conference
  • DigiKids Hub
  • KidSmart Snapshots
  • Dimensions of Learning Hub
  • Interactive White Board (IWB) Hub QLD
  • Habits of Mind EXPO takes place in two countries

Report from the Better Together: Schools & Communities Workshops

At the end of August, first in WA and then in Victoria, ANSN presented an outstanding workshop by Dr George Otero and Professor John West-Burnham (see below left). Feedback on the workshop speakers/facilitators and their theme was extremely positive. A bonus for WA participants was a spectacular setting for the workshop, at the Fremantle Yacht Club (below right). To read or download a short report by Helen Davey, ANSN's Networker in WA, click here.


Melbourne participants were equally enthusiastic about the workshop. Victorian Networkers Andrea Federico and Meg Parker joined them for the day and came away inspired.


Report on the 2007 ANSN National Forum

Andrew Bills, ANSN Networker in South Australia, has written a report on the 2007 National Forum. Held at the University of South Australia in August, the Forum had a theme of “People Working in Schools in Challenging Circumstances”. It brought together invited participants from around the country to address some of the key challenges that currently face Australian education. Andrew's report provides a valuable summary of questions that were raised as well as presentations by Rob Hattam, Deb Hayes, Viv White and a panel (on work that has been influenced by Big Picture Company schooling), and Margaret Vickers and Tania Ferfolja. Before adding his concluding comments, Andrew also outlines some of the strategies that groups suggested for moving the agenda forward. To read or download his report, click here. In a separate document, Andrew has also prepared a summary list of participants' reflections on three issues:
  1. What's the nature of the problem?
  2. What does it mean?
  3. What do we do?

To read or download the summary of reflections click here.

Learning Management Conference

The Learning Management Conference – Pedagogy that Works – which was held at Twin Waters Sunshine Coast in late August, was a great success. Academics and teachers around Australia presented strategies and ideas that have been based on research that have improved pedagogy. To access the podcast from Dr Robert Marzano's keynote, or other workshop presentations from the conference, go to the Learning management site, at http://www.learningmanagementconference.com/ and click on the updates section.

DigiKids Hub

In the previous edition of e-news, we invited schools to place an expression of interest for attending the DigiKids Hub. This is a 5-day professional development opportunity for up to 3 teachers from a school (or for small schools 3 teachers from a cluster) to explore technology integration within a play based curriculum.

We had a very enthusiastic response across Australia for registering an expression of interest, and as a result the ANSN will be delivering the Hub in Melbourne and Brisbane during 2008, with the possibility of running an additional Hub from Adelaide.

If your school is interested in participating in this Hub opportunity, we will need schools to register officially, to secure their positions. To download the flyer click here. Because it is a hands-on Professional Development opportunity, places are strictly limited in each location.

For more enquiries on the DigiKids Hub contact Hanan Harrison, ANSN Networker for Queensland at hanan.harrison@ansn.edu.au

KidSmart Snapshots

In previous editions of e-news we have published teacher reflections from the Early Childhood KidSmart program, which has been a core component of IBMs Australia's community investment strategy and has been proudly supported by the ANSN since 2001. Hanan Harrison writes to remind us that since the program began IBM has donated over 640 KidSmart units to schools, kindergartens and childcare centres in Australia, with a majority of these being in rural or disadvantaged communities.

The ANSN strongly believes that having the latest technology does not necessarily translate to its utilisation through effective pedagogies. As a result, the partnership with ANSN and IBM was formulated to work with teachers to explore effective strategies of integrating technology within an early childhood context that stayed true to the philosophy of being child centred and play based. Hanan comments that the results of the project have been amazing. Teachers who were often sceptical initially, quickly converted to the idea of technology as a tool to support learning with young children.

The ANSN and IBM believed these learnings to be very significant and wanted to document them in a format that would inspire other early childhood educators to explore the potential of technology integration. As a result the KidSmart snapshots have been developed as a collection of teacher reflections, written by teachers for teachers in an easy to read conversation format. To read or download another sample snapshot, click here.

The complete set of Snapshots is now available for purchase. For details, including a short introduction to each of the KidSmart Snapshots and purchasing details;

The KidSmart project is now run by individual states and interested schools need to meet criteria developed by each state department. If schools are interested in this project, the ANSN DigiKids Hub offers similar opportunities and is open to all schools. Contact Hanan Harrison for details at hanan.harrison@ansn.edu.au

Dimensions of Learning Hub

Dimensions of Learning (DoL) is an instructional framework designed to incorporate the best of research and theories of learning. This model examines learning in relation to modes of thinking and is based on the premise that successful learning is based on five types of thinking
  • Dimension 1: Attitudes and Perceptions about Learning
  • Dimension 2:Acquisition and Integration of Knowledge
  • Dimension 3: Extension and Refinement of Knowledge
  • Dimension 4: Meaningful Use of Knowledge
  • Dimension 5: Productive Habits of the Mind
Central Queensland University (CQU) and the ANSN, in partnership, will launch the Dimensions of Learning Hub in 2008. The focus of the Hub will be to explore how students learn, and translate this into a program to help educators plan curriculum and instruction through a 5-day professional development opportunity for teacher teams within schools/clusters. To find out more information about the Hub or DoL go to CQU's website, at http://www.cqu.edu.au/dol/.
The Hub will be based in Brisbane, with the possibility of more Hubs opening in other locations, if your school is interested in registering for the Brisbane Hub or enquiring about setting up a hub in another location, or you would like more information, contact Hanan Harrison on hanan.harrison@ansn.edu.au

Interactive White Board (IWB) Hub QLD

The IWB hub has been run successfully in Victoria throughout 2007 and will be launched in Queensland in 2008. The cost for participating in the project includes a Commander IWB and data projector, as well as 5 days of training for teacher teams, to explore effective strategies for incorporating an IWB into a classroom. Interested schools can click here for more information.

Habits of Mind EXPO takes place in two countries

As this edition of E-News is being finalised, the Habits of Mind EXPO has just taken place, first in Melbourne and then in Auckland, New Zealand. A report and photos from this exciting and unique event will be included in the next edition. In the meantime, congratulations to the schools that shared their experience with colleagues from around the world, and to James Anderson, ANSN National Co-ordinator of the Habits of Mind Hub, for all the organisation that went into making the EXPO happen. To contact James, click here.

Reminders of ANSN activities

The following activity has been detailed in previous editions of E-News.
April and August 2008, Cognitive Coaching Course
In 2008, ANSN will deliver an intensive 8-day leadership development course in Art Costa and Robert Garmston's “Cognitive Coaching”. The course will be presented by Sue Presler in two 4-day segments, from 7-10 April and 4-7 August, 2008, at the Metro in Melbourne. There is an ‘early bird' rate if you register before 21 December 2007. To download the brochure and registration details click here.


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