Celebrating another #ict4red success story in Carnarvon

Last night we, yet again, came to the finale of another #ict4red training intervention in the heart of the Karoo in Carnarvon. The teachers of Carnarvon Hoërskool really did excel themselves with high quality tablet integrated lessons which were produced to earn their tablets and show what they have learned about using mobile devices in the classroom. But it was so much more than that!!

As always we had a lot of fun during this implementation. This was also the very first time that the course was conducted in Afrikaans. This in itself was a challenge as quite a few of the mobile terminology terms just do not quite exist in Afrikaans and we had a lot of fun with "innovative" translations. The teachers in the process took ownership of the course and we had a 98% pass rate with 75% of the teachers completing the challenge badges as well! Really worth a joyous celebration!

This happy occasion was supported by the Department of Education, representatives from the Department of Science and Technology, representatives from the SKA (Square Kilometer Array) project, and the training team from the Maraka Institute (CSIR), who were responsible for project management, workshop facilitation and assessment.  Delegates from the primary school attended as well and expressed the hope that they will also have the opportunity to partake in this fun teacher professional development initiative.

Five of the teachers were chosen to present the strategies that they enjoyed most while implementing the course material in their classrooms. They all agreed that it was a lot of fun and did not feel like training at all. They shared that the tablets were very motivating to the learners and contributed to better discipline in the classrooms. Some of them admitted that they were terrified in the beginning as they suffered from "techno-phobia", but are now convinced of the value of using technology in their classrooms. They are now comfortable with their tablets and made use of the occasion to campaign for more tablets and mobi-kits for their learners.

The evening was concluded with a delicious dinner and discussions on how to take this further. The enthusiasm was noted by all the speakers and we know that the Carnarvon staff will be shining their techno light in the heart of the Karoo!!

Module 9: Galleryloop- Uitstalling 2: Uitvissing (Phising)

Uitvissing (phishing) is die poging om informasie soos gebruikersnaam, geheime kodes en kredietkaartinligting te verkry (en soms indirek  geld ook), deur iemand wat homself voordoen
as betroubaar in ‘n elektroniese kommunikaie.  Hierdie kommunikasies kom voor asof dit van  van betroubare sosiale webwerwe, vendusie werwe, banke, aanlyn betalinghanteerders of IT administrateers af kom en gebruik dit om goedgelowige mense te bedrieg.

Vervalsings e-posse kan skakels na webwerwe met wanware (wanware is sagteware wat ontwerp is om beheer oor jou rekenaar of tablet oor te neem en dit te beskadig) stuur. Hierdie vervalsing word veral uitgestuur as e-posse of sms’e  en moedig die lesers aan om hulle details na ‘n vervalste webwerf te stuur wat lyk en voel soos ‘n betroubare webblad.  ‘n Voorbeeld is ‘n vervalste e-pos wat lyk soos die amptelike e-pos-vorm van ‘n (fiktiewe) bank.

Die persoon wat dit stuur probeer die ontvanger mislei deur vertroulike inligting na ‘n vervalste webwerf te bevestig. Let op vir spelfoute en teenstrydighede. Selfs wanneer die webskakel lyk of dit van die bank se webblad amptelik af kom, wys die skakel na die vervalser se webblad.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phishing

Instruksies:
Bestudeer die volgende voorbeelde van e-pos en smse in hierdie gallery uitstalling en besluit of enige een daarvan oorspronklik (outentiek) is of nie. Bespreek hoekom jy so dink.

Indien iemand  vir jou ‘n e-pos of sms stuur wat jou laat voel of dit dalk gevaarlik is, wat kan jy doen om vas te stel of hulle is wie hulle sê hulle is? Hoe kan jy jouself teen sulke kommunikasies beveilig?

Kyk in jou Module 9 leêr of die internet vir hulpsame raad. Lewer jou kommentaar hier onder in 'n blogpost.

SKA Module 9: Uitstalling 1: Digitale Identiteite

Die volgende post is vir gebruik gedurende die Module 8 werkswinkel sessie:

‘n Digitale Identiteit verwys na hoe mense jou kan sien en wat jy doen of verteenwoordig, in ‘n aanlyn of elektroniese omgewing. Ons moet altyd verseker dat dit wat aanlyn oor ons verskyn, positief is en nie ons reputasie sal beskadig nie. Ons leerders kan selfs slegte dinge aanlyn oor ons sê en ons moet leer hoe om dit te hanteer. Ons moet hulle ook leer hoe om verantwoordelike digitale gebruikers te wees. In hierdie uitstalling gaan jy ‘n paar aanlyn onderwysers se profiele ondersoek en besluit of jy hulle as deel van jou Professionele Leergemeenskap sal wil he. Kyk gerus na jou Module 9 bronneleer vir artikels en videos wat kan help om die uitstalling te verstaan.

Julle kan ook julle fotos van julle Galleryloop gebruik om julle kommentaar aan te vul.

Instruksies:

Bestudeer die 4 verskillende profiele en lewer kommentaar onder die blogpost, watter waarde wat die persoon as deel van jou Professionele Leergemeenskap kan he. Kyk na die volgende:

• Is die persoon betroubaar? 
• Sal jy hom volg/bevriend/kontak/hou van en hoekom?
• Wat kan jy van hom/haar leer wat jou sal help om te groei as ‘n lewenslange leerder?

Report back storify from our Field trip and gallery walk

Game Based learning Module 7

I can't believe that we are already on Module 7. Time just flies when you are having fun. During the week of the 27th to 30th of October the hills of Cofimvaba came alive with the sounds of music, fun and laughter while we play-acted our Game Based Learning strategy.

Even though the entire ICT4RED TPD course has embedded elements of gamification that drives it, we have one whole module dedicated to exploring just how it can be used to create fun and exciting learning opportunities. The facilitators met on the Monday prior to the weeks training to fine-tune arrangements and to make sure that they can model the fun elements required to invite their teachers to participate in the fun.

The first activity demonstrated how traditional gaming apps ( in his case Angry birds) can be used to
focus learners while they learn important lessons that could enhance their 21st century skill set. We explored what Game Based learning really means and what constitutes a game. Is a game just a game? The teachers set about defining elements needed to make a game a game. It was mentioned that most games requires at some rudimentary set of rules. Healthy competition helps to fuel interest and to focus learners. By embedding learning objectives connected to the CAPS within games, enthusiastic learning is guaranteed (as was demonstrated by the teachers). One of the added benefits of incorporating the Angry birds app into this lesson structure was that it gave some of the teachers who still was a bit scared of technology the opportunity "to fly". We also looked at other apps that can be used in the classroom and apps specifically geared towards promoting education outcomeswithin a fun environment. For more ideas on how and why to use Angry Birds in the classroom, refer to the following slideshow by Edgar Joe.

Angry birds in education from edwardjoe

The teachers then had to get to grips with the various pitfalls of copyright, fair use and creative commons licensing and prepared to take each other on using a quiz game show. Competition was tough and in two of the sessions there were a dead draw which resulted in a frantic scramble for the highest score. Everybody agreed that this was a great way to do revision or to make sure if learners have grappled with topics in a flipped classroom scenario.

Our final gaming activity had the creative juices flowing with the teachers using their tablets to compose songs about the project. We looked at how assessment rubrics can be used to make game adjudication more fair.We solicited esteemed judges from the district office to help with the process.

Now the teachers will go and implement this fun strategy with their learners and we are looking forward to see what they come up with! Let the (edu) games begin!!

For all the photos from our sessions click on the links below:

• Lumka's group at St James
• St Marks centre
• Wisiwe's group
• Luvo's group

Our ICT4RED graduation celebration story