Heard on the Hill Term 2, Week 8
From the Principal
Bonjour à tous, and Wanju
Last week I spoke to you about the exponential growth of the rate of technology power and the speed of processing.
Living on the Future Edge - PART III
“Getting information from the internet is like drinking from a fire hydrant”
We take the internet for granted. Bank accounts, music, video, even this newsletter. I don’t need to give you a history lesson on the evolution of the internet but here are some things for you to think about. There are more than 2 billion users in 180 countries, which is a quarter of the world’s population. It is estimated that there are 100 billion web pages. It is also estimated that the web is doubling in size every 120 days. That is staggering.
We know all the social opportunities for students - Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Instagram. What about online opportunities for learning – university course lectures, lab demonstrations, sports highlights, campus tours, MIT world, the list is endless and so is the information. Any student with a wireless connection can watch and listen to a lesson, connect with any expert or learn anything else of educational interest from anywhere at any time. The implication of this for a school, university or training institution is massive. Educational institutions, and teachers specifically, are no longer a gateway to knowledge.
In the age of “InfoWhelm” what begins to matter more, is not the ability to remember specific content, but rather the ability to critically analyse that information, put it in context and use it effectively. Let’s begin – from today. We need to explicitly plan for and teach:
- the skills of critically appraising information.
- how to understand the context of the information that they have extracted and determine if it is suitable for the context that they need it for.
- To use the information accessible to them effectively
As always have a fabulous week.
En Avant
To access the Leadership Minutes from last week, see below.
Aspiring Classroom Teachers
Aspiring level 3 classroom teachers are invited to register for the one-day program, Level 3 Classroom Teacher program: Preparing for Stage 1, scheduled during the July term break, to develop their level 3 classroom teacher portfolio. It is recommended that the Level 3 Classroom Teacher Information Session, available via the professional learning tab in Ikon, is completed prior to attending this program.
If you think you would like to pursue this promotional opportunity, it is a good idea to speak with your head of learning and get some guidance regarding a particular focus for your portfolio. It is also a good idea to let me know, as I will be able to provide other support, such as making sure PL related to your L3CT aspirations is approved, connecting you with staff who have been through the process and can offer advice, recommend mentors etc.
Selection Panel Training
This one-day workshop will assist the school to manage effective recruitment and selection processes. Level 3 leaders should definitely complete this training if they haven't yet done so. If there are other staff in your learning area who are often called upon to be on panels, they should consider doing this training also. You can register for the workshop on PLIS. All PL must be approved by the Executive Team through the normal process, prior to registration.
Lemov’s No Opt Out
In a previous Heard on the Hill, I introduced Lemov’s No Opt Out as part of the school’s knowledge of best practice. The No Opt Out is a strategy that gently pushes greater accountability on to a student. The strategy starts to eliminate the option whereby a student does not provide an answer or says ‘dunno’. As with any strategy, building relationships with students is paramount for the strategy to start being effective.
What Is an Answer?
In order to take on opt-out responses, you need to have a clear idea of what kind of response is not opting out. In other words, what would be an acceptable attempt at responding?
One suggestion is the “However/Best” approach. In it, a student can say, “I don’t know” if it’s followed by the word “however” and his best try, as in “I don’t know; however, I think I need to multiply here.”
You can always repeat the question in case it wasn’t heard or understood. A suggestion is that you can request the student to follow before you conclude he is opting out, including audibility and complete sentence format. When a student is opting out by mumbling, you can comment,
“John, please speak up so everyone can hear. I’ll repeat the question ...”
“I didn’t catch that. Can you say it again more loudly and at a little more length? Say it as a complete sentence.”
The question I’m asking is ...” “I’ll accept that you don’t know all of it but summarise what you do know. Try it again.”
IT Help Desk
REPORTING TECHNICAL ISSUES
If you are experiencing difficulty with technology in the classroom or with school devices, please ensure you log your job via the IT Help Desk in the first instance. Please do not email Greg Hiscox or Riley Bourne directly to report any issues.
Logging your job via the IT Help Desk ensures there is a record of what issues are being experienced in the school and if they have been fixed.
The VIVI rollout will continue and, as with anything new initiatives, there will be teething problems. Greg and Riley are working hard on troubleshooting so your patience and support is appreciated during this time.
Craig Bourne has commenced meeting regularly with the IT Committee, so if you would like input into the direction of IT in the school, please see Craig about joining the IT team.
Video for promotions
We love to see what projects are happening throughout the school! Across all the learning areas, we would like to capture a snapshot of what projects, activities and more happens during school for a new promo video that can be shared on our socials and website.
Ellie is available for classroom visits and can even attend incursions and excursions to get great footage of our students in action.
If you have something that you think could be videoed during class time or an incursion/excursion, please email Ellie: ellie.mackay@education.wa.edu.au with more details.
BUNBURY SHS INSTAGRAM
BUNBURY SHS FACEBOOK
Is something interesting happening in or around your classroom? Having an incursion or excursion this term? Please let me know!
We love to share updates from the school with our community and would like representation from each area of our wonderful school; no matter how big or small.
Please submit stories for our Facebook page via the wufoo link below and include as much information as you can, plus a few images to accompany the article. If you are having trouble with the wufoo form, you can email the information to me directly.(ellie.mackay@education.wa.edu.au)
Don't forget to follow us on Facebook and check out what our students and staff get up to.
What’s OnTerm 2, Week 8
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Mike's Week |
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