Virtual Learning Network

What is happening?

Broadgreen.  Elearning stocktake.

Strategic plan:  Continuing to be developed.  The annual plan built on the strategic plan.

Baseline classroom maintained: As prescribed by the elearning budget buying plan, classrooms are consistent with an equal spread of technology throughout the school.  This also allows for equipment to be maintained without exceeding the budget dramatically.

Email: Group emails.  Email in general is highly utilised at Broadgreen.  From group information to single conversations.

Facebook:  Teachers are using this, often as an encouragement tool especially since this is a camp year. Teacher to teacher use only.  Encouraging each other on camp, Facebook has been an interesting tool to see being used in a school context.

Website use: Web 2 tools.  A list of useful sites that are integrated into the curriculum plan are on the school intranet.

Blogs:  Links to these can be found on the school website.

Walkthrough:  A timetable has been set to ensure all teachers attend a walkthrough this year.

Eportfolio’s:  See below

Radio:  The Radio Crew continue to deliver student notices and play music to the school and wider community.

Media suite:  Continues to be utilised for various support lessons and is also integrated into the curriculum plan.

Projectors:  Widely used in classes.  Resources for projectors are shared over the school intranet and support the curriculum plan. Powerpoint and keynote presentations are used by students and teachers.  Clickview is an important resource for most curriculum areas, especially Science in Term 2.

New computers: Purchased as per school buying plan.

New pods/Cows: A new cow has been introduced after the wheels literally fell of the last one due to overuse. Teachers computers are bought at the end of a ‘rental cycle’. Their memory is upgraded and they are recycled into the COW to keep student computers up to date.

Shared folder often reorganised (Teacher/student side):  This is a consistent process as new material is added regularly.

Daily notices:  Continued to be used in conjunction with the radio crew who read out the notices over the radio at lunchtime.

Teachers booking in for 1:1 PD’s: 

Central techie (Tracy)

Commitment to part time tech specialist: Pete Mundy is a valuable asset and  reduces our elearning expenses with consistent monitoring and maintenance of school systems.

Purchase of mac server

SNUP upgrade:  Broadgreen has been indentified and included in this MOE process.

Students invited to 3d modelling at Nayland High School: Students were invited to participate in this Nayland College intitiative in term 4 2010.   A small group of students were well received and enjoyed the opportunity to advance their elearning skills.  A quality programme.

E-Learning Team participation:  Meeting twice a term.  Google Doc used to set agenda.  The team discuss to revise the curriculum plan before the school wide planning meeting.

Cluster facilitation commitments:

Genius Café meeting and building towards a term 4 event.

Kidds Cannes Film Festival is underway.

What is not happening?

E-Portfolio’s :  Due to the current commitment to cluster facilitation programmes a proposal for e-portfolios in 2012 is currently under development.

What will we start?

Exploring Maraha

Blog forum

myPortfolio

Use of MUSAC: MUSAC has been set up to allow teachers prescribed access

Curriculum design using an inquiry approach.  After the Tony Ryan visit and consultation the current curriculum planning process has been revised.  An inquiry process will be developed to enhance curriculum planning in the future.

What will we stop?

E-portfolios has been paused due to cluster facilitation commitment.

Weekly tech times have been substituted for personal bookings and 2-3 short morning sessions a term.  It appeared that elearning PD on a weekly basis created an ‘overload’ of information and diluted the impact on teacher use of technology. 

 Lead Teacher stories:

Ché Luke

I am currently involved in the development of The Genius Café in the Whakatu cluster.  My goal is to see this initiative as a sustainable PD into 2012 and beyond. While I have undertaken a leadership role in this development process I would like to see a development towards new leaders being able to carry this event into the future.  

I have co-presented with 3 other members of the team at the Learn@Schools Conference in Rotorua on the Genius Café and we delivered a successful presentation.

I am currently working on the development of a strategic plan for elearning at Broadgreen.  It is imperative to see this being developed with the National goals in mind.