Tones Posted March 24, 2004 Share Posted March 24, 2004 Hi all, I'm a 2nd year student science teacher in Western Australia, and was wondering about how computers were being used by in-service teachers as resources for their students. So far (on prac) I've seen schools ranging from computer access only via the library to schools where the students all carry notebooks/lap-tops. What I'm really wondering, is what a useful level of technology would be, and strategies for how best to get students to use those resources... TIA Tony. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Richardson Posted March 24, 2004 Share Posted March 24, 2004 Here's something that we're going to try in the next 6 months: We've just got hold of a desktop video conferencing system, which schools can use too without having to invest in anything more complicated than a webcam and a microphone. We're going to encourage some of our teaching practice schools to install the client software in a couple of classrooms (which have computers connected up to Internet). Then we're going to try to do some lesson observations from our campus, without having to visit the school. The aim is not to eliminate the school visit, but to give the trainees the chance to have more lesson observation (since we cut out the travelling time to the schools, which in our area could be 4 hours/school). Another effect which hope is beneficial is that we'll be able to make instant observations and comments when the trainee comes to the computer after the lesson. You can make notes on a whiteboard in this system, and bring up documents you've got on your hard disk. We won't be recording the session in any way - Swedish law forbids filming people without their express consent, but this won't be a problem. The main value we think we'll all get is that the trainee gets informed feedback from a teacher she knows as close as possible to the actual lesson. This won't get off the ground until the autumn … but we'll keep this forum posted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tones Posted March 26, 2004 Author Share Posted March 26, 2004 Sounds good... I'd found that the biggest problem with being on prac was the inability to have that immediate contact with my lecturers... At the moment all the primary, middle and lower schools here are switching (finishing switching?) over to outcomes, and the in-service teachers I've been with, in the main, expect me to know more about outcomes than they, which unfortunately isn't the case, and having a line to my lecturers would have been more than handy... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Davies Posted March 26, 2004 Share Posted March 26, 2004 There's a large bank of ICT training materials for language teachers at the ICT4LT site: http://www.ict4lt.org The REVIEW Project, University of Hull, has recently released a CD-ROM entitled "The Good Guide to Interactive Whiteboards". The materials on the CD-ROM focus on the effective use of interactive whiteboards in the classroom and are based on over 200 observations and interviews with students and teachers. http://www.thereviewproject.org info@www.thereviewproject.org Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patricia Corby Posted March 28, 2004 Share Posted March 28, 2004 There is an excellent bank of resources and teaching suggestions for those who are teaching English on the Tasmanian English Learning Area site at http://www.discover.tased.edu.au/english/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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