Week 2 Tutorial

As I was unfortunately unable to attend the first tutorial for 4001EDN, today marked my first experience within the subject. Initially, I had many questions about the subject as a whole and what it might possibly entail and was excited to embark on the journey into the world of ICT. While I consider myself a digital native, I found this initial introduction to be quite daunting, as technology is not my perceived 'forte'. However, I entered the classroom with an open mind, eager to learn more about the concept of ICT and specific tools and technologies beneficial to a teacher within a classroom.

In today's tutorial, the idea of using the tools Google Blogger and Sites as a means of ICT were explored.

Google Blogger:

•  is an interactive tool enabling users to create a personalised blog to communicate with other members of society. 
• would be an effective tool to implement within a classroom to encourage the use of communication between the students, teachers and overall schooling community.

Google Sites:

•  allows users to create collaborative web sites where multiple people can communicate together and share files. 

• is securely powered by the web, so you can access your sites from school, from home, and even on your mobile phone.

• would be extremely useful to use for the creation of our own personal E-Portfolios for Learning Adventure 2. 

(Google, 2011).

Today also marked the first day of the student led group presentations, where each group performed a 15 minute presentation based on the topics chosen from the Week 1 tutorial. I found that through providing a brief overview of their topics and an outline for the coming weeks, the groups enabled the remaining students to understand the topic and relatable concepts.

As a whole class, there was a set of prescribed readings meant to be read prior to the workshop. They focused on the following topics:

• Education Queensland's Smart Classroom Professional Development Framework
• ICT Certificate
• Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) Framework

The first readings for this week focused on Education Queensland's Smart Classroom Professional Development Framework, with specific reference to the ICT Certificate we are all working towards achieving at the conclusion of the course. "The ICT Certificate acknowledges teachers who understand how learners can use ICT purposefully" (The State of Queensland (Department of Education, Training and Employment) 2012). This reading really clarified the exact requirements required to successfully obtain the ICT Certificate and outlined for me personally, what was expected in the digital portfolio. The prospect of creating a digital portfolio originally concerned me due to the amount of work required. However, this reading was extremely informative and I believe it has helped me become more confident and ready to tackle the challenge of Learning Adventure 2!

The other focus of the weeks readings was on TPACK-Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge. TPACK is a framework used to describe the types of knowledge needed by a teacher for effective pedagogical practises in a technology enhanced learning environment (Koehler, 2012). While I was already somewhat familiar with this framework, engaging in this reading really allowed me to connect my previous knowledge to that of a digitally powered ICT environment. To effectively integrate ICT and other digital pedagogies into the classroom, the TPACK framework will help to provide educators with the knowledge and skills needed for successful implementation.

Through actively engaging within these readings I was able to further consolidate my personal knowledge of Smart Classrooms and TPACK and apply this to my teaching practises. At the conclusion of Week 2, I believe my ICT knowledge base has expanded and increased to include topics such as Smart Classrooms and TPACK and digital tools in the form of Google Blogger and Google Sites. I look forward to continuing on this journey and further developing my ability to effectively work with and implement ICT practises within the classroom.

Ready and raring to go for Week 3!

Jessica Beitey

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References:
Google. (2011). Sites-Google Apps for Education. Retrieved 22nd March,  http://www.google.com/apps/intl/en/edu/sites.html

Koehler, M. (n.d.). TPACK- Technological Pedagogical and Content Knowledge. Retrieved 1 March, 2012, from http://www.tpck.org/

The State of Queensland (Department of Education, Training and Employment). (2012). Smart Classrooms Professional Development Framework- ICT Certificate. Retrieved 1 March, 2012, from http://education.qld.gov.au/smartclassrooms/pdframework/docs/scpd-framework.pdf