Sunday 30 July 2017

Integration of Technology

Technology is a tool that supports and enhances the pedagogy we are implementing. We have a BYOT (Bring Your Own Technology) policy where students bring their own devices to school. The theory is that students know how to use their device so it should be easier for them to use it for learning.

Here is an outline of the technology we are currently using and why we use it.

Google Drive
Google Drive has many advantages for education.

  • It allows students and staff to store files online, meaning they can be accessed from any device at home or at school. If a student forgets their computer, they can still access their work files and participate in the lesson.
  • Students have shared folders that are accessible by teachers. Teachers can watch students work in real time, mark students' work and easily share with students their own copy of a file to work on. We use Hapara to do this.
  • Students can create shared Google Docs which fosters collaboration and group work.
  • Teachers also have shared folders and files for programs, teaching resources and assessment. We have one master file as our program which each teacher annotates in a different colour. 
  • Teachers use Google Sheets to create documents to record student progress and assessment results. Since the documents are shared, all teachers can access and record information about every student.
Blogger
We have a Stage 3 blog that acts as storage for resources we want students to be able to access freely. these are generally organised by subject and unit of work and allows student access from school or home. Homework is posted on the blog as are reports and photographs of class/grade activities.


Google Classroom
Since the blog is public, we also use Google Classroom which is open only to those who are invited. This is where we post announcements and information for students. Students can comment if they wish and conduct conversations related to learning. It can also be used to turn in assignments.

Seesaw
Seesaw is an online learning portfolio. It allows students to upload work samples and to reflect on their work in writing or via video. Teachers and parents can comment on work samples. Samples are available to be viewed as soon as they are uploaded so parents are seeing work in real time rather than having to wait until a portfolio is sent home.

Camtasia
Teachers use this program to record video lessons. We record short tutorials (4-5 mins) which are uploaded to YouTube for sharing with students. We also record instructions about assessment tasks and marking criteria so students are given consistent information.

All of these tools are chosen because they meet a teaching and learning need and they enhance what we are doing in our classrooms.

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