ICT4RED Reflections and Learnings Workshop, 19 November

Videos

There are so many exciting moments that we cannot possibly catch that just on camera, so see some of the videos that people are sharing about what is happening down on the ground, with the teachers in the classrooms.

Journey to Cofimvaba

This trip truly changed my life in the most unexpected way.

Thank you ICT4RED team.

Love the energy in the room

This video captures the energy in the hall during the Teachers Fun Day held by the ICT4RED Project Team in Queenstown on 2 November 2013.

Enjoy!

Technology in schools has the power to impact more than just learners: Antoinette Prophy

My visit to Cofimvaba in the Eastern Cape was truly human empowering and hope inducing. Now, I know you probably got stuck on Cofimvaba, yes it took me a while to learn how to pronounce it properly and after my trip this weekend, I can now point it out on a map. I really need to travel more and truly explore the vast terrains of our extraordinary country.

Anyway, I digress so back to the purpose of this blog post. I had the opportunity to experience the impact of tablets in classrooms over the weekend. When we were appointed to assist the CSIR Meraka Institute to develop and implement a communications strategy for the ICT for Rural Education Development project, I had no idea how it would impact me personally.

Education is a major focus not only for those who truly understand that our equality lies in quality education (this is the only revolution) but also to those cynics, who sit on the bench and criticize every move those playing the game make. What differentiates the ICT4RED project that it takes an all-inclusive approach so steering away from models where technology is dumped in an environment where it has never been used as a teaching aid. 

The ICT4RED project takes a holistic approach to successfully implement tablets

in schools as a teaching aid. The teachers receive professional development training using modules developed by Dr. Adele Botha and Maggie Verster specifically for the project.  It also offers a Change Management Programme headed by Tebogo Reid aimed at managing teachers, who are reluctant to adopt new technology and converting them by addressing softer concerns. At the heart of the project are people who want to see the teachers grow they make the entire experience FUN!!! 

The most inspiring moment for me was walking into a classroom, used as a study hub for grade 12 learners at the Arthur Mfebe Senior Secondary School  and seeing all the students on their tablets. This moment not only brought the project to life for me but also moved my soul. I mean, here we are in rural South Africa and these learners are beyond comfortable using their tablets in prepping for their final exam.

The success of this research project is a culmination of so many dedicated stakeholders like the Department of Science and Technology, Department of Land and Rural Development, Department of Basic Education, CSIR, SchoolNet and many others bringing life to the notion that together we can do more but more importantly, in the words of Maggie Verster: “Technology is not about the tools, it’s about people.”

Our #tabletfunday twitter story

Our #tabletfunday housekeeping

#ICT4RED tablet fun day housekeeping

More PowerPoint presentations from Maggie

How to twitter from your tablet

Today we will be starting an exciting twitter movement in Cofimvaba with our #ict4red teachers. Please leave a message of support for our teachers or send a tweet using the hashtag #ict4red. Here is a howto to help.

Tablet Fun Fun Fun-day preparations

We are having great fun preparing for our fun day with our #ict4red teachers in #cofimvaba! We will be hosting 150 of our amazing teachers on Saturday 2 November and is therefore preparing a vibrant team to make sure that everybody will be having maximum fun fun fun! We are so chuffed that teachers are prepared to give up a WHOLE Saturday to come and learn more about their tablets and have fun with us. That makes us very (h)appy!

Reaching for the stars!
As this #ict4red course is all about changing teaching into a more collaborative fun, student centered activity (using tablets), we will be using the teaching strategy that we learned about last (Learning stations) to create a large scale, school wide,  learning station, which will more resemble a fabulously fun market place of learning! You will be going around collecting tidbits of skills, apps, knowledge and collaborations, while getting completely STAR STUDDED (literally). Your aim will be to collect as many stars as possible within a limited time span.

The team
Your friendly facilitators and the Meraka team, will be there to help and assist you, but we have also organised some learners to turn the tables on you! For once they will be teaching and helping YOU- payback time! We have hand picked a big bunch of PUNKS to make sure that you can operate your tablet like a NINJA. 

Don't forget to charge your tablets in order to cope with all the fun! Please bring with all your cables and bits as we will make sure that you know how to do your fun-bit!

Registration fun will start at 8 am sharp! So get there early to get a head start!! If you already have an email address make sure that you remember the password!! If at all possible you can already send us an email to Ict4red@gmail.com with your name and school and why you are a star tablet user. There might be a prize in it!! Also for those who have not SMS-ed us that they are coming, please do so as that will definitely enter you in the prize draw! If you have not received a SMS invite, also let us know!

Talking about Prizes!!
We have lots of fun tech related prizes to be won! There are TV connector cables, flash drives, SD cards, speakers, earphones, external chargers, tablet pens, car chargers aaaaaand.....a laptop and Samsung S4 to be won! We also have a floating trophy for the school with the most stars per teacher!! Jaribaaaaaa!!!

Our amazing sponsors!!
We just want to thank all our sponsors so far for their support and dedication to teachers professional development in our country!! Meraka, Afrihost, Eduboard, ICT4Champions, Schoolnet and Queens college who is making their school, students and WiFi available to us at no extra cost. Jaribaaa indeed! We are still looking for more prizes. Please contact us at ict4red@gmail.com if you love our teachers and want to show some support!

Fun ICT4RED tablet workshop in Queenstown

Dear #ict4red Educators

We will be hosting a fun tablet workshop day on Saturday the 2nd of November at Queens College in Queenstown. You will be able to sort out email problems, get fun tablet skills, install subject related apps and learn how to use twitter and blogging for teaching. You HAVE TO book if you want to attend!! You will receive an SMS invitation to which you have to reply (yes/no) to confirm your attendance. If you have not received an invite by the 16th of October, please send us an email (maggie@maggie.co.za) or ask your principal to let us know that you are coming,

If you have not yet managed to set up your email on your tablet, then you must come as we will expect all teachers to have email access on their tablets going forward. Internet access will be provided at the venue.

Agenda:

8h00 -9h00 Registration

9h00-9h15 Welcome and Housekeeping

9h15-12h00 One to One Learning station session (Email set-up and trouble shooting, Apps, tablet-skills, network setup, twitter registration, blog registration, badge awards)

12h00-13h00 Twitter intro

13h00-14h00 Lunch

14h00-15h00 Blog networking

15h00-15h15 Roundup and prizes 

The tweet story of Arthur Mfebe Senior Secondary school and ICT4RED

Welcome to our ICT4RED mobile learning journey

Welcome to an exciting journey of personal and professional growth. We are so excited to learn with you and from you ! This professional development course will run for about six months in which time you will be developing a toolbox of teaching, technology and 21st century skills. It is natural to feel a bit nervous at the start but if you look around you you will see everyone else is also a bit unsure. If you work together and support each other you will enjoy the journey together. We would like to encourage you to use all the opportunities that will be coming your way. The course consists of 10 modules. In each module you will be given the opportunity to learn about some teaching method, relevant assessment strategies, some technology skills and the opportunity to think and write about your learning. As you develop new skills and can demonstrate them you will be earning badges that are an acknowledgement of challenges that you have successfully achieved. So let’s start...

Question: How do you feel at the beginning of this mobile learning journey?

Module 8 Virtual gallery walk Activity 3

You have experienced a physical gallery walk where you set up exhibits against the wall and use stickies to comment on the various scenarios that you were presented with. Sometimes we are not in the same physical location but needs to work together and share ideas. A virtual gallery walk is just the thing!

Another advantage is that we can build a great professional and personal learning network by collaborating and sharing within a virtual environment. In the next exercise you will summarize your thoughts for every exhibit and share it using blog comments.

Instructions:
Let every member of your group choose an exhibit and go and participate in the exhibit discussion by leaving comments on that specific exhibit blog e.g.
Member 1: Exhibit 1: Digital identities
Member 2: Exhibit 2: Phishing
Member 3: Exhibit 3: PLNs pr PLCs
Member 4: Exhibit 4: Online safety

You can consult your notes/wall stickies from your physical walk for ideas. Feel free to go and comment on the other exhibits as well if you have time left during the session. You can also carry on the discussion whenever you have internet access at home or at school.

Module 8 online discussions Exhibit 3: Personal and Professional Learning Communities

Professional Learning Communities  (PLCs) are formed when groups of teachers get together (online or off) to share ideas, teaching strategies, resources and inspiration. During this course you had many opportunities to share with your colleagues and with teachers from the other schools during communal professional development opportunities and we hope that you will take it to another level using your mobile devices! Consult your Module 8 Exhibit 3 folder for more information on how to start PLCs and get more information about it.

Instructions:

Use the comment section below to answer the following question.

• Which is the best place to get advice on the latest CAPS documents and resources? Look at the 4 examples and motivate your choice. 

Exhibit 3A: www.google.co.za

Exhibit 3B: http://en.wikipedia.org

Exhibit 3C: www.mathsliteracy.co.za

Exhibit 3D: www.thutong.doe.gov.za/

Module 8 online discussions:Exhibit 4: Online safety

Instructions:

Read the following scenario and comment on how you will respond. 

Context:

You have just confiscated a cell phone from one of your learners who was busy having a text chat with someone during class.

1. Is this a good enough reason to ban mobile devices in the classroom? 
2. How can we safeguard our students against online bullying? 
3. What will you do if you were this teacher?

Module 8 online discussions: Exhibit 2: Phishing

Phishing  is when someone tries to get personal information such as your usernames, passwords, and credit card details (and sometimes, indirectly, money) by pretending to be a trustworthy person or organisation using electronic means like emails or a sms. In this exhibit we will try to see how gullible you are! What are the tell-tale signs of someone trying to con you?

Instructions:

1. Read the examples of the following emails and sms's, decide if each one is authentic (real) or not and discuss why you think so.
2. If someone were to send you an email and you cannot track that they are who they say they are, what should you do to safeguard yourself?  You may consult the resources in your Module 8 folder or the Internet.
3. Comment on all the examples in the comment section below.

Example 1

Example 2

Example 3

Example 4

Example 5

Module 8 online discussions: Exhibit 1: Digital identities

Digital identity refer to how people can view who we are and what we do or represent,  in an online or electronic environment.  We have to constantly ask ourselves if what is known about us online is positive and won’t harm our reputation. Our students can also say bad things about us online and we need to know how to deal with this as well as help them to become responsible digital citizens. In this exhibit you will explore a few online teacher profiles and decide if you would like them as part of your Professional Learning Community. Feel free to consult your Module 8 resource folder for articles and videos that can help you understand this exhibit.

Study the following 4 different profiles and comment on the value of having the person as part of your Professional Learning Community (PLC) in the comments below.  As you do this think about:
• Is this person authentic?
• Will you follow/friend/connect to/like them and why?
• What can you learn from them that will help you grow as a lifelong learner?