Over the past two days I have had the pleasure of taking part in two separate Microsoft Education workshops. Having worked with Microsoft, as a result of my work on Edufolios, I approached them to see if they might be interested in running some PD here in Adelaide. I organised the venues, the teachers (and one of the morning teas 😉 and, as a result, 34 local teachers completed enough professional learning that they were able to gain Microsoft Innovative Educator status.
Providing and Leading Learning Opportunities for Teachers in my Local Community – Bringing in Leading Experts
At this stage I can only guess as to the impact that this will have on the practice of those in attendance. The tweets and comments that were occuring during the session suggested a few things 😉
- Those who were at DECD sites where a risk assessment had not been completed were very keen to make sure that this piece of paperwork was submitted. They felt restricted by the lack of tools available to them and are now aware of the policy requirement they need to overcome in order to access these resources.
- A lot of the teachers present walked away from the session understanding and using language that they, perhaps, had not fully understood in the past. Educators were discussing what “the cloud” is, where it’s based, the importance of data sovereignty and security, what is acceptable (and not acceptable) when storing information on this server and how they can manage their files. These conversations meant that there was much growth in the area of ethical protocols around using ICT as well a greater understanding of some of the aspects required in the General Capability for ICT. These teachers, I am sure, will now be able to confidently explain these aspects of data security and structure.
- Many teachers in attendance were unaware of the fantastic, specifically designed, education tools available to compliment One Note. The in takes of breath, the excitement and, dare i say it, the relief, that some of the tools that Troy shared with us was very evident! There were some impressive aha moments when it came to understanding how teachers can use 365 to save themselves time, streamline the assessment processes in their learning environment and structure content to meet the needs of students.
I have encourage all who have attended to write and reflect on what they have heard in these sessions. Exploring the need to place their learning into the context of the site and their classrooms. I really hope that they will choose to share these reflections with me so that I can better understand the impact that this session has had upon their practice. At the very least I am confident that they will report more than just standard 7 and 6 when they submit their hours 😉 Perhaps in comments below this post, or on the Facebook page we share?
