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

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.

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

ANSN offers teachers an opportunity to make study tours to schools using innovative thinking and new ideas. A scholarship of $1000 is available to help you to meet teachers making schools better for students and teachers.

Giving teachers opportunities to visit, watch and talk with others in diverse and similar locations is an amazingly powerful tool for professional learning because of the directness of the experience.

This Snapshot outlines the background of African students now in schools in Australia and discusses the need for teachers and schools to find ways to capitalise and build on the strengths of these students, to assist them in building the new (and sometimes unfamiliar) skills that they will need if they are to settle successfully in Australia. It then provides an overview of what the project is setting out to achieve, and includes case studies and suggested strategies, as well as details of the resources that are being made available.

A series of Snapshots is being developed around the experience and practice of teachers in the Digi Kids program. The first in the series looks at Lynda Page’s work on Integrating Technology in the Early Years Classroom.  A teacher for more than 20 years, Lynda works at Coolum Beach State School, in Queensland. She has been a keen participant in the Digi Kids program, which is co-ordinated by Hanan Harrison. In developing the Snapshot, she worked with Keith Redman, Editor of E-News and this Snapshot series.

A suggested way to maximise the value of reading resources, for example the KidSmart Snapshots, could be to use them with the Final Word Protocol, within a staff or team meeting.

The Australian National Schools Network - a statement about our objectives, purposes and the work we do.

The ANSN is a not-for-profit national network of teachers, researchers, schools, systems, sectors, unions, universities, and community and business partners. It focuses on rethinking schools for a changing world.