Hanan Harrison (from an interview with Keith Redman, Editor of ANSN E-News)

Throughout 2009, ANSN national networker Hanan Harrison has been working in partnership with Education Queensland International on the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR)-funded project Integrating ICT Pedagogy in School Community. Hanan was contracted to develop, deliver and evaluate a national project targeting teachers and school leaders in the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) as an integrating teaching tool.

The project has sought to develop a sustainable model, while targeting teachers varying in expertise from ‘beginner’ to ‘experienced in the use of ICT in the classroom.  There were 350 participants registered in the on-line Australian Digi Teachers EDNA site.

The program has been delivered in 3 phases, the timelines varying from state/territory to state/territory, with staggered starts.

Phase 1, on-line self reflection and preparation

This involved getting to know the learners – their skills, beliefs and values – and them getting to know each, through the use of technology. A range of on-line activities was employed. The aims included getting the participants to share their ideas and practice, and to develop an awareness that the important thing is the pedagogy that we develop for using technology, not the tool itself.

During this phase, the participants exchanged images and statements about themselves. These varied enormously in terms of format, content and style – from poems to short stories; from metaphors to snapshots of practice.

This phase included raising participant awareness of the resources and technologies available to them – by having them use and explore the technologies as part of the activity. For example, Flickr (the largest on-line resource for images) was used for photo sharing. As another example, participants were introduced to the Learning Federation’s “Learning Objects”, more than 1500 items designed for use with interactive whiteboards, which are relatively under-utilised in schools at this stage. The participants exchanged perspectives on how they might use such technologies and resources in the classroom.

Feedback about Phase 1 was very positive. Participants determined the timeline for moving to Phase 2. 

Phase 2: A seminar/workshop for professional conversation and learning;

State/Territory participants came together once, face-to-face, for a one-day seminar/workshop. This was too short a time to teach every skill that every participant might need. In addition, the spread of expertise was enormous – varying from the high-level skills of ten ultranet tutors in Victoria, to considerably less advanced levels, with some participants who came into the project not knowing how to upload an image.

The workshops therefore focused on teaching the process for action learning – which had been identified as a requirement for work that would be done in Phase 3, later in the year. Participants also explored ideas about what is worth teaching, what skills principals might want their teachers to be familiar with, and what was achievable by December 2009 in terms of Phase 3 projects. Focusing on what was available and manageable in the timeframe produced ideas such as building a Wiki and sharing resources through an on-line platform. Many participants expressed their desire to undertake action research on work that they would undertake, for example to upskill in a specific area, to develop questions about and experience with digital storytelling, or to engage reluctant readers through digital editing. All such suggested projects were both do-able and valuable.

To help in the development of such ideas, Hanan helped participants explore possible uses of available tools/resources, varying from EDNA (Education Network Australia, an on-line resource, accessible by all schools, which points to thousands of resources identified and contributed by Australian educators and networks) to the Livescribe Pulse smartpen (a computer/microphone in a pen). With regard to EDNA, discussion revealed that only about a quarter of participants knew about the resource prior to this session. In relation to the Livescribe, a new and little-known tool, Hanan discussed ways in which some educators have used it to help develop student metacognitive skills – where a student ‘thinks aloud’ to a computer.

Participants worked in groups to discuss how such resources/tools might be used, and also where problems might be anticipated. Other groups looked at relating specific technologies to particular educational issues, such as improving literacy or maths skills; engaging disengaged or at-risk students; developing the skills of disabled students; or supporting learning in a given subject area, such as history. Such discussions were in line with a specified federal emphasis on the four designated areas of the national curriculum: literacy, numeracy, history and science.

Participants were shown how to share ideas through blogs and were encouraged to do so.

The following photos, of Hanan Harrison and participants at a project workshop, have been ‘captured’ as stills from video shot by Mark Richardson, state-based ICT coordinator for the project in Victoria.

Feedback from participants during or at the end of the workshops was very positive. Examples include the following.

It’s been inspiring to think about how the technology can be used in a classroom and for a purpose.

It’s been fantastic. We’re lucky that two of us have been able to come … we’ve had so many ideas from the sessions at the workshop and, because we’re here together, we can talk to each other, bounce ideas, and pin down what we can put into practice when we go back to school.

Our first thoughts are about how we support teachers to use on-line opportunities to collaborate with each other – particularly beyond their own particular school, going across schools, across networks and across the state.

Phase 3: School-based action learning research projects

Up to the end of 2009 the participants have been working on projects, using action learning/action research. Each project has been supported with on-line resources and, for up to three months, by a Learning Mentor – followed by a shared celebration of learning.

The stories and evaluations of the outcomes, which remain to be written by the participants, will be reported as they become available, including reflections on what has been changed, what has worked, how technologies have helped the processes, and what has been shared with others in terms of the action research. It is anticipated that these reports will appear on the EDNA blog site, me.edu

In 2010 the project is expected to extend further, to the building of networks.