Enhancing Teachers’ Take-up of Digital Content

Research designed to find out what works in helping teachers embed digital curriculum resources resulted in the publication of the following report: Enhancing Teachers’ Take-up of Digital Content: Factors and Design Principles in Technology Adoption by Professor Michael Gaffney.

This 2010 Australian-based report is a worthwhile 10 minute read.

I found the following diagrams particularly useful in communicating complex, multi-faceted ideas related to the challenges involved in technology adoption.

This continuum (Zhao 2007) describes how the roles of the teacher, the student, and the technology change as one moves from teacher-centred to student- centred Teaching. A useful conversation starter when considering teaching practice.



The next diagram un - packs the many factors at play when teachers adopt technology.
I considered this diagram particularly useful in informing the strategic planning process and in encouraging alignment between the contributing factors.




Click here for the full report.
Enhancing teachers' take-up of digital content: factors and design principles in technology adoption
Professor Michael Gaffney
June 2010

Students at the Centre of Learning

There seems little doubt that student learning is becoming more and more relevant to the needs and interests of individuals. Students are increasingly aware of who they are, of their communities, their roles and of how they as individuals can support and sustain the world around them.

At a school wide level, class representatives and school councils are common place and help to ensure that a student voice informs school-wide policies and programmes.

It was great to stumble across some ‘high stakes’ technology projects that were also putting students at the centre. These projects directly sought the thoughts and opinions of students and used this information to inform policies and programmes at a national level.

Project Tomorrow - 2008
Top Ten Things We Have Learned From K-12 Students About Educational Technology
This power-point briefly describes Project Tomorrow and the 10 findings. Lots of parallels with these findings and NZ findings.
A short document is also available and provides an excellent summary of the findings.

Jevansfutureofeducation021109

View more presentations from rjensen.

EduTopia, writer Sara Bernard, is working on a story and is looking for responses from students to the following prompt:
What if you had to teach the classes you are taking now or something you learned years ago? How would you use technology to do it? What devices, software, games, networks, or applications would you use to help students learn more easily — and have more fun learning?
For instance, imagine that it was your job to teach algebra, Charles Dickens, volleyball, poetry, a foreign language, science, or the Civil War. Would you have your English students use Facebook to create profiles for each main character in Jane Eyre? Would you have them use Garage Band to create a World War II song or the national anthem of a fictional country? Would you use instant messaging or cell phones as tools for classroom discipline? Could you learn math from Mario?
For more info: http://www.ncs-tech.org/?p=2674


Exploring solutions with those directly involved in the problem sounds like a smart strategy to me. Do we do this enough at all levels of the education sector??r

E- Learning 'Micro' Fellowships for 2009

Applications for the NZ e-Learning Teacher Fellowship for 2009 are now open. Up to 10 teachers will be selected. The theme for e-fellows’ projects in 2009 is literacy.

e-Fellows will be supported to develop a short but in-depth classroom-based inquiry project.

The fellowship will run over the first three terms of 2009. e-Fellows will receive 15 days’ teacher release time, broadband at home for the period of the fellowship, and funding to attend a major national conference.

Applications are due on 15 September 2008. Guidelines and an application form are on the NZ MOE website.