ICT+in+the+classroom

=Using ICT in the classroom - and why teachers need to understand Web 2.0 tools = Teachers need to be made more aware of the potential for using innovative technologies in the classroom, otherwise it will be left to those early adopters to engage their students, but a heap will be left by the wayside.

I was lucky enough to have been granted Teacher Professional Leave in 2006/07, part of my project was looking at ways to integrate ICT into the classroom. I introduced the use of Moodle at the college, initially hosted on a local server, then jumping in the whole way in 2007. All of my courses, whether based in a computer room or not, are up on Moodle for students to explore and use the resources. Several other staff also joined Moodle, and put their courses up. We had some great explorations and a range of uses. Gradually more staff are exploring the potential.

While I was exploring and researching ways to incorporate ICT into the classroom I started to hear a lot about Web 2.0. I jumped onto the blogging train and recorded our progress, and reflections of our TPL journey. I now use blogging as a tool in most of my classes, either as a very basic reflection, using the Moodle blog, or creating student blogs

It was only through my experimentation that I really was able to put these tools into perspective, and look at how we could use these in the classroom. So when I started to become frustrated that other staff were not as eager to take up these tools I took a step back, and realised they needed time to play with them, and work out which tools fitted them best. There were Web2.0 projects (such as the original 23 Things project and SLAV's Learning 2.0 project), but many had parts that were not relevant to teachers. Teachers are always time poor why would they persevere with a learning task that was not entirely relevant? So I developed the Redback project, a self paced exploration of a range of Web 2.0 tools which can be useful and accessible in Victorian schools. To give other teachers a starting point for their journey into exploring teaching tools of the 21st Century.

These tools are changing so quickly, and new ones appear every day. Will they last the distance? Are they useful? Who has time to explre these in the depth they require? So I thought I would share the ones I have found to be useful, and as I continue my learning journey I will continue to share, and hope others will also join in too.