This year has been a fantastic year of learning and growing for all concerned. I am about to email our trial BYO parents inviting them to respond to the final survey of the year. The students are also going to be asked to provide feedback to us about the year that has been.
Below is a document we have produced that is truly representative of where we are on our journey with using these devices to enhance and support learning. It is a document that we are calling a ‘placemat’ as it is meant to sit close to hand on teacher’s desks or walls – so that it is easily referred to during days of planning or teaching.
It shows TOPS ( our Oakleigh Pedagogical Framework) elements down the left hand side. These are the elements that we have included in our research driven framework as those that have been found to have the biggest impact on teaching and learning. There is then a continuum moving from left to right which displays Blooms Taxonomy and the SAMR model – both models designed to support teachers to design learning experiences that are both varied in complexity and rich in terms of how technology is used. Placed in a grid within the vertical and the horizontal are experiences and activities that teachers can use or build upon. There are examples of apps linked to these activities but it is important to note that the apps are not the most important aspect – instead, we are looking for transformative integration of technnology that moves students to connect with others and each other. We have found that these devices do this and that they enable us to behave in ways that mirror the way technology is used outside school walls.
The power of this document lies in the way that it depicts exactly where we are in our journey and where we have been. These devices are not being used as an ‘add-ons’ or as shiny bright new toys that can simply occupy, excite and engage today’s kids. They are instead, deeply embedded in our pedagogy. They could be even seen as being a catalyst to aspects of our pedagogy. There is clear purpose in what we are doing and explicit direction and intent.
Classrooms are changing and so they should. Not only are we catering for today’s kids and scaffolding them to develop skills that will certainly be useful for their futures in terms of technology use, but we are also collaboratively building a pedagogical approach and vision that will continue to evolve and change over the coming years…………………..
A video currently displayed on the opening page of this website explaining this placemat and its significance.