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The occupational health and safety challenges for educators Collaboration driving teacher professional learning What is social media and how can it be useful for teachers?

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Editor’s Note

Digital learning and technology use in Australia’s classrooms is constantly evolving, and as such a significant part of our magazine is always devoted to the topic. Inside this edition we meet the Senior Leader for Quality Pedagogy and eLearning at Adelaide’s Urrbrae Agricultural High School, Nick Jackson. Nick shares with us the successful Digital Leaders program he established at the school and says empowering students in positions of responsibility, in relation to technology, provides assistance and solutions to many of the problems that schools face in the digital age. Four students in the current Digital Leaders group have also shared their experiences and thoughts about their work as Digital Leaders. Debate continues about the value of vocational education and training (VET) and in particular the value of VET delivered to secondary school students. Executive Director of the Australian Secondary Principals Association (ASPA), Rob Nairn, has addressed this issue inside. He discusses the important changes that must take place if Australia is going to create a VET system to supply job-ready graduates to industry. The annual Australian Principal Health and Wellbeing Survey has pointed out some of the reasons why the workload of Australian principals is rapidly approaching a tipping point, beyond which the job will become unsustainable. The Survey’s Chief Investigator Philip Riley writes inside that if principals’ work is becoming unsustainable then so is teachers’ work. He discusses the occupational health and safety challenges for educators and how you can best achieve a sustainable work-life balance. The 2015 Survey is currently being conducted by Riley and a team at Australian Catholic University. The survey, open until October 4, is confidential and is independent of all employer groups, professional associations and unions. Your participation is highly encouraged and you can visit www.principalhealth.org to take part. Not to be forgotten of course is the wellbeing of your students. Student Wellbeing Consultant for the Association of Independent Schools of New South Wales, Nicky Sloss, discusses how teachers can help their students on the path to wellbeing. She says a whole-school approach to wellbeing is about creating a safe and supportive environment in schools, one that enhances all dimensions of health and the development of students. Also inside I speak with Harvard University physicist and educator Eric Mazur about how he believes approaches to assessment in education are outdated and that teachers should rethink their approaches in order to better prepare the leaders of tomorrow. We look at an exciting new collaborative, professional learning community called South Australian Inspired Learning (SAIL), founded by a small group of educators in Adelaide, South Australia. Jenny Ackland and Justine Kiely-Scott from Sex Education Australia call for more comprehensive sex education in Australian secondary schools and writes that if ever there was a time to strive for improved sex education in secondary schools, it’s now. In our ‘spotlight on’ series ACHPER National Executive Director Alison Turner explains the importance of quality health and physical education delivery in secondary schools and how sport enhances school and community engagement. Phil Lewis, President of Catholic Secondary Principals Australia (CaSPA), discusses the association’s key areas of focus for now and into the future. Finally, make sure you turn to page 66 where teacher and social media guru Meridith Ebbs has compiled a handy guide for those principals and teachers trying to navigate their way in the social media world. I’m delighted to bring you this edition of Education Matters – Secondary and we’d love to hear your feedback. Please feel free to pass on any comments or questions to me directly via email kathryn.edwards@ primecreative.com.au or get in touch via Twitter @edumattersmag.

Education Matters editor

education matters secondary

Publisher: John Murphy john.murphy@primecreative.com.au Editor: Kathryn Edwards kathryn.edwards@primecreative.com.au Art Director: Michelle Weston Designers: Blake Storey, Sarah Doyle Group Sales Manager: Brad Buchanan brad.buchanan@primecreative.com.au Advertising: Chelsea Daniel-Young chelsea.daniel@primecreative.com.au 0425 699 878 Production Coordinator: Michelle Weston Administration Assistant: Justine Nardone Education Matters is a division of Prime Creative Media Pty. Ltd. 11-15 Buckhurst Street, South Melbourne 3205 Ph: (+61 3) 9690 8766 Fax: (+61 3) 9682 0044 Subscriptions Education Matters is available by subscription from the publisher. The rights of refusal are reserved by the publisher. Ph: (+61 3) 9690 8766 E: subscriptions@primecreative.com.au Articles All articles submitted for publication become the property of the publisher. We reserve the right to adjust any article to conform with the magazine format. Cover Sarah Camm Year 11, Mater Christi College Copyright Education Matters is owned by Prime Creative Media Pty. Ltd. and published by John Murphy. All material in Education Matters is copyright and no part may be reproduced or copied in any form or by any means (graphic, electronic, or mechanical including information retrieval systems) without the written permission of the publisher. The Editor welcomes contributions but reserves the right to accept or reject any material. While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of information, Prime Creative Media will not accept responsibility for errors or omissions or for any consequenses arising from information published. The opinions of the magazine are not necessarily the opinions of, or endorsed by the publisher unless otherwise stated. All photographs of schools (including students) depicted in feature articles and advertisements throughout this magazine have been supplied to the publisher (and approved) by the contributing school. All material supplied by schools is done so with the understanding that such images will be published in Education Matters and may also appear on the our website: www.edumatters.com.au.

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contents SECONDARY OCT 2015-APR 2016

DEPARTMENTS Editor’s Note 4 Foreword

Advertisers’ Directory

Secondary Column

Phil Lewis, President, Catholic Secondary Principals Australia (CaSPA)

Rob Nairn, President, Australian Secondary Principals Association (ASPA)

National Education News

Events Diary

Industry Q&A

Eric Mazur, Balkanski Professor of Physics and Applied Physics at Harvard University, Dean of Applied Physics at Harvard, and Vice-President of the Optical Society

Digital Leaders – student leadership by action, not voice

Work with wellbeing

Empowering students in positions of responsibility, in relation to technology, provides assistance and solutions to many of the problems that schools face in the digital age, writes Nick Jackson. A whole-school approach to wellbeing is about creating a safe and supportive environment in schools, one that enhances all dimensions of health and the development of students, writes Nicky Sloss.

48 Workload, tipping points and sustainable work-life balance: The

SPECIAL FEATURES

occupational health and safety challenges for educators

Australia has a significant mental health issue, and many schools as workplaces are unfortunately part of the problem not the solution, writes Phil Riley.

What is social media and how can it be useful for teachers?

Social media for educators is a world of new ideas and resources. Teacher and social media guru Meridith Ebbs has compiled a handy guide for those trying to navigate their way in the social media world.

74 Secondary schools, the health and physical education learning area and ACHPER

The importance of quality health and physical education delivery in secondary schools cannot be understated to ensure students are given developmentally appropriate opportunities to engage in active play and positive health choices, writes Alison Turner, ACHPER National Executive Director.

80 Klaxon call for more comprehensive sex education in Australian secondary schools

If ever there was a time to strive for improved sex education in secondary schools, it’s now. Jenny Ackland and Justine Kiely-Scott report.

Collaboration driving teacher professional learning

Teachers need to continually build their skills, be cognisant of new technologies and ideas, as well as engage with other education professionals in order to ride the tides of best and next practice in their chosen career, write Andrew Napier, Jodi GordonMoulds and Troy Thompson.

education matters secondary

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Foreword

Principals taking steps to look after themselves

Principal wellbeing and school experience protocols are currently two topical matters for our profession. As a peak national secondary principals’ association, Catholic Secondary Principals Australia (CaSPA), along with the other three peak principal associations, has taken a keen interest in the Australian Catholic University’s Principal Health and Wellbeing survey. The research, being led by Professor Philip Riley, is now in its fifth year and has developed into a longitudinal study of principals from all sectors of education in Australia. According to Professor Riley, the five years of research will be able to be analysed systematically in a more nuanced way: finding the less obvious combinations of factors that predict positive and negative health and wellbeing outcomes for principals. Health and wellbeing for all principals is a by-product of good policy, not an end in itself. After five years the research will have significant baseline data and the survey will have credibility. Jurisdictions will be able to use the survey to evaluate future changes to education policy. At the end of 2015 we will be able to identify enablers of sustainable practice. The research will: • Identify combinations of people and environments that make for thriving principals (not just surviving), in different contexts; • Identify essential elements of principal preparation programs (prior professional experiences predict thriving leaders) and feed this information to institutions involved

in delivery (e.g. principal organisations, universities, AITSL); • Identify support mechanisms that help principals cope with the stressors of the job, and suggest improvements to existing mechanisms; and, • Provide advice to training program providers for school council or board members to help them see their key role in principal support. The future usefulness of the survey is dependent on continuing strong participation rates from principals. So far this is happening. This is the profession taking steps to look after itself in a rapidly changing context. Evidence is the best negotiating tool. The rapid increase in principal workload already identified will likely become a key focus for the next report. Hence, I encourage all principals to contribute to this survey. Another key focus for CaSPA has been the studies and discussions related to Initial Teacher Education. I am confident that raising the standards of our teacher training and raising the quality of our teaching profession is an aspiration that would gain widespread support throughout our profession. We all want the best for our students. The recent TEMAG publication, Development of School Experience Protocols, has a key focus on the role of the supervising teachers and the school. In addition there was also a focus on the institution and its preparation of student teachers to enter into a school environment during professional experience. This TEMAG publication has provided a good starting point to improve professional experience

education matters secondary

and it includes some strategies that can be employed to improve the professional experience in teacher education. There are a number of implications for schools especially related to the selection, training and recognition of teacher mentors for school experience students. It is taking the current arrangements to a new level of professionalism and I believe this is great. However, there may need to be further resources allocated to schools and teachers, who are going to take on more onerous and accountable roles in this area. The role of schools is to support the pre-service professional experience but it should not be expected to do the work of the universities. A new collaboration and partnership between the schools and Universities may need to emerge for the future if professional experience is to be enhanced. Phil Lewis President Catholic Secondary Principals Australia (CaSPA)

Phil has been an educational leader in Catholic schools for over 20 years and a Principal in South Australian Catholic education for 12 years. He recently completed his second Master’s degree in Educational Leadership and has been a Director of Catholic Principals Australia (CaSPA) for five years. Phil has been the CaSPA President for the past two years.

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ASPA Column

The VET challenge CONSIDERABLE DEBATE CONTINUES ABOUT THE VALUE OF VOCATIONAL EDUCATION AND TRAINING (VET) AND IN PARTICULAR THE VALUE OF VET DELIVERED TO SECONDARY STUDENTS. “VOCATIONAL EDUCATION IS CENTRAL TO AUSTRALIA’S ECONOMIC GROWTH AND BUSINESS PRODUCTIVITY. THE VET REFORM AGENDA IS MULTIFACETED BUT FOCUSED ON GETTING BETTER OUTCOMES FOR STUDENTS, EMPLOYERS, TRAINING PROVIDERS AND TAXPAYERS.” (AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT, DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING, JULY 2015)

VET programs allow students in the latter years of high school to study towards a nationally-recognised vocational qualification, while at the same time earning credits towards the senior secondary certificate of education. In 2014 the Education Council decided to update the New Framework for Vocational Education in Schools released in 2001 when the VET sector and vocational education in schools was expanding. The Hon Sussan Ley MP led the review aimed to, “ensure that vocational learning and VET delivered to secondary school students reflects modern schools and workplaces.” The resultant policy document, Preparing Secondary Students for Work, is essential reading. It was considered that Australia’s VET system needs reform, and in 2015 the Australian Government, through The Hon Simon Birmingham, embarked on an ambitious reform agenda to lift the quality of both training providers and their courses, to enhance the very significant contribution that VET makes to the job prospects of students and to the competitiveness of Australia’s economy, and lift the status of VET amongst families, students and employers, industry and community. A paper from the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Certification Authority (ACARA) explored the general misconception that VET delivered to secondary students is somehow different from all other VET. The reality is that: • All VET is drawn from nationally-recognised training packages or accredited courses; • All VET is delivered and/or assessed by Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) or in partnership with one, all of whom are compliant with the VET Quality Framework or the Australian Quality Training Framework; • All VET is assessed within a competency-based assessment framework by assessors who comply with the VET Quality Framework; and, • Students are awarded nationally-recognised VET qualifications and/ or Statements of Attainment by the RTO delivering and/or assessing the VET.

At this point it is important to note that, under the rationale outlined, VET delivered to secondary students is the same as VET delivered to non-secondary students, i.e. VET managed by the VET sector. Preparing Secondary Students for Work makes a clear distinction between vocational learning (managed by the school sector) and VET, which is managed by the VET sector. Schools and industry need to be clear about the differences. The framework recognises the importance of both in preparing secondary students for work. ‘Vocational learning’ describes a wide range of activity delivered within the broader school curriculum and includes career education programs, through which secondary students explore the world of work, build career development skills and learn about the different education, training and employment pathways available to them. VET delivered to secondary students is a more formal program of learning through which students achieve, or make progress towards achieving, a nationally-recognised qualification through an industrydeveloped training package or a course of study that is accredited through national and state quality assurance processes. Many in industry have the view that VET delivered in schools, or in partnership with schools, is different to other VET and does not prepare students adequately for the workforce. Certificate I and Certificate II courses are designed to provide in most cases preparatory/prevocational-level training and there is an expectation that students continue into post-school education and training. These Certificates have little to offer employers and gone are the days where young people can enter the labour market directly from school and access sustainable employment. National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) research data indicates that more than 90% of schools offer VET to Year 11 and 12 students. There has also been a 38% increase in the number of secondary students undertaking VET between 2005 and 2012, and a 77% increase in the number of school-based apprenticeships over the same period.

education matters secondary

We must improve engagement between industry/employers and schools and address the issue of school and RTO understanding of employer expectations for workplace learning as part of a VET qualification. VET programs are developed in consultation with industry, as well as the VET sector. The focus in this collaborative work is two-fold: what is appropriate for school-aged people to be studying and under what conditions should this training be undertaken?; and, what skills are most relevant to employers? Javier Amaro Castillo (President at Australian Society of Training and Development; 11th June 2015); argues that for a VET system to work effectively, it must have industry relevance, operational standards and global pathways. Students and the community need to understand the benefits of VET, how VET can support their lifelong learning and how VET can serve as a bridge for employment and further studies. WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE? If we are going to create a vocational education and training (VET) system to supply “job-ready graduates” to industry then clearly some things must change. 1. The value of VET must be re-defined to meet the needs of learners, industry and communities. It must provide a career pathway for learners and an alternative but convergent route to education embedded into the higher education system. 2. Teacher registration bodies must look at flexible ways that will allow the delivery of key competencies in a school-based environment. Many industries advocate for workplace delivery and assessment of VET in training packages but the sheer weight of numbers would make this impossible. An alternative (that works very well in some jurisdictions) is for tradespeople to deliver some key competencies in the VET training packages. 3. L ike a teaching practicum, the quality of a work placement is often dependent upon the environment

and the supervisor. All students must have access to quality industry specific workplaces. These are often difficult to find and industry must take the lead in this area. 4. VET programs should be promoted as a pathway to higher-level post-school study, rather than as a pathway directly to jobs without further training. 5. E xpert career guidance is essential. Schools need support to ensure young people understand how to combine VET with their other school studies in a way that gives them the best chance of continuing in post-school training. 6. F unding arrangements must be “sorted out”. According to Role of lower-level qualifications in Australia’s vocational education and training system (ACER March 2015) enrolment patterns demonstrate the sensitivity of enrolments to changes in funding arrangements.   7. Adequate resourcing must be provided for VET. Role of lower-level qualifications in Australia’s vocational education and training system (ACER March 2015) says that the “expansion of VET as a result of the changes in the school leaving age and the embedding of VET qualifications in the school leaving certificates of states and territories requires additional resources if quality standards are to be met. Organising and supervising workplace learning for school students, if properly undertaken, is an expensive activity. The purchase of equipment necessary for some vocational training can also be expensive.” 8. S chools must consider good practice when planning for, implementing and reviewing VET delivered to secondary students and their capacity to deliver VET. 9. Teacher training? With the large proportion of secondary students either engaged in VET during secondary education or articulating into training as a post-secondary pathway all teacher graduates need to be adequately prepared to either deliver nationally-recognised training or, provide up-to-date advice about the VET system and the breadth of opportunities available to their students.

education matters secondary

ROB NAIRN BEd, Dip Teach, MAICD, MACEL Rob is Executive Director of the Australian Secondary Principals Association (ASPA Ltd) and Adjunct Associate Professor at Edith Cowan University. He has extensive experience in metropolitan and regional Senior High Schools in Western Australia, particularly in low-socioeconomic areas. Rob is passionate about developing exemplary leadership to provide highquality secondary education to all young people no matter what their geographic, social or personal circumstances. Rob is Deputy Chair of the Board of Principals Australia Institute (PAI Ltd), Director of Australian Institute of Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL), Chair of Edith Cowan University Applied Health Research Centre Advisory Board, Director of the Asia Education Foundation (AEF) Advisory Board and Executive member International Confederation of Principals (ICP).

National Education News

NSW Govt reveals part of its Gonski spend Sydney public schools will benefit from a $224 million New South Wales Government initiative that aims to improve the quality of teaching. The program, dubbed Quality Teaching, Successful Students, was launched by the state’s Education Minister Adrian Piccoli and forms part of the funding promised to schools this year as a result of the NSW Gonski schools funding agreement. It is currently being rolled-out across NSW and will enable more than 1,000 of the best teachers to mentor and coach other teachers. Piccoli said the program will improve the skills of teachers and, in turn, improve learning opportunities for students. “Experienced teachers have knowledge and skills that are even more valuable when they are shared with their colleagues,” he said. The package enables selected teachers to: • Observe colleagues in their classrooms and demonstrate effective teaching strategies; • Monitor student performance data across the school to ensure teachers are focused on areas of need; and, • Collaborate with colleagues within their school and in other schools. NSW Teachers Federation Deputy President Gary Zadkovich highlighted the importance of additional support being provided

to primary schools. “For many years the NSW Teachers Federation has been campaigning to achieve increased release time for executive teachers in primary schools so they have the opportunity to mentor and support teaching colleagues in enhancing teaching practice,” he told Education Matters. “This is a welcome additional resource for primary schools and we believe it will greatly assist in further strengthening teaching and learning practice. “This program will provide important support for teachers to engage in professional development, professional learning, to enhance teaching practice and improve student outcomes. “It’s really important that teachers are provided with the time to work collegially in their workplace to enhance teaching practice. More time for teachers to collaborate, to share ideas, to support one another, to program cooperatively and develop more effective teaching and learning approaches is good for students and will overall enhance the quality of public education. “This is also a very important example of the benefits of the Gonski schools funding system – $224 million of additional Gonski funding is going to greatly benefit public schools right across the state and this is yet another example of the importance of all governments around Australia committing to fully funding the Gonski model.”

National Reform Summit supports needs-based schools funding “This program will provide important support for teachers to engage in professional development, professional learning, to enhance teaching practice and improve student outcomes.” NSW Teachers Federation Deputy President Gary Zadkovich

August’s National Reform Summit recognised the value of needs-based Gonski schools funding for Australia’s economic future, and the Abbott Government should follow its lead, the Australian Education Union (AEU) has said. AEU Federal President Correna Haythorpe, a participant in the summit, said it had seen business, community groups and unions express support for needs-based funding. “There has been agreement that we need to invest in our school system on the basis of need so that all students can get an education which will allow them to participate in our economy,” Haythorpe said. “The Summit’s ‘Action Plan’ includes a recommendation

education matters secondary

that Governments should: Ensure all schools are operating at a resources standard that meets the needs of all students on the principle of needs based funding. “Participants also pledged to: Work together to ensure all schools are operating at a resources standard that meets the needs of all students. “Needs-based funding and minimum resources for schools are the essence of the Gonski reforms, and it is a measure of their importance that they have found support from a diverse group of participants today. “It is a recognition that Gonski is not just about social equity but about ensuring Australia’s economic strength for the future.”

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National Education News

Haythorpe said if Australia continues to have one-inseven students leaving school without the basic literacy and numeracy skills to find work, then it will struggle to compete economically with the rest of the world. “The Abbott Government needs to commit to the full six years of the Gonski agreements, which is what is required to lift all schools to the resource level required to give all students a quality education,” she continued. “Its plan to end needs-based funding after 2017, scrapping the final two years when the bulk of Gonski funding was to be delivered, will short-change disadvantaged

schools and their students. “Investing in schools, in particular those that educate disadvantaged students, will lift our productivity and deliver economic benefits in the long-term. “The fact that a Coalition Government in NSW has led the way in properly implementing the Gonski reforms shows that this should not be a partisan issue. “Giving all our students the education they need, improves equity and also delivers us an economic benefit in the long-term.”

Compulsory STEM ‘masks real problem’

“Students are disengaged with mathematics as currently taught. This is not surprising, because 40% of high school maths teachers are not fully qualified to teach mathematics.” Executive director of the Australian Mathematics Trust, Mike Clapper

Two leading educators have told Education Matters that the key to engaging high school students with STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) is through teachers, and have called for a greater focus on professional learning. Executive director of the Australian Mathematics Trust, Mike Clapper, said making the study of mathematics compulsory to Year 12 sounds attractive, but masks the real problem. “Students are disengaged with mathematics as currently taught,” he said. “This is not surprising, because 40% of high school maths teachers are not fully qualified to teach mathematics (which means that, with the buying power of wealthy schools, the problem is far worse in socioeconomically deprived areas, where in many schools there is not a single qualified maths teacher on the staff). Forced participation will simply exacerbate the problem of teacher shortage, so we need to look at this a little more deeply. “As a first step, we need to support these teachers, putting money and resources into professional development to build their capacity to teach in an engaging way, opening up students’ minds to the power and the possibilities of mathematics.” President of the Australian Science Teachers Association (ASTA), Robyn Aitken, said surveys have shown that the teacher plays a significant role in influencing students pursuing science careers. “Supporting teachers through resources and professional learning is critical if our teachers are to remain relevant and able to reflect the nature and issues of our changing world in their teaching and ultimately increase student engagement in science,” he said.

education matters secondary

“Teachers are change agents. Their influence on student interest and passion for specific subjects, including science, is well documented. Our teachers must remain relevant and able to reflect the nature and issues of our changing world in their teaching and ultimately increase student engagement in science. A greater focus must be given to providing routine teacher professional learning.” Professor Ian Chubb AC, Australia’s Chief Scientist, has backed Federal Education Minister Christopher Pyne’s push for compulsory maths and science in Australia’s high schools. In a statement Professor Chubb said he supports the initiative without reservation. “I have been saying for a long time that Australia needs to approach science and mathematics much more seriously than we ever have, and that these subjects should be part of every child’s education,” he said. “We live in a world utterly reliant on science to fuel its industries and provide for its people. In the future, science will only become a bigger part of our lives, and the impacts will touch us all. “We need therefore to equip as many of our future citizens as possible to understand how science works, its methods and its ethics; and to be able to make better informed judgements. “The best way to achieve this is to start early in schools, raising the overall level of science and maths literacy in the community and giving those students with the talent and passion for these subjects the preparation for rewarding careers – some in science and some not – but all with better understanding.” Studying maths and science is currently not compulsory for Year 11 and 12 students in New South Wales, Victoria and

the ACT. Students in Queensland and South Australia are only required to undertake one compulsory semester of maths during their final two years of high school. In the Northern Territory, maths is compulsory in Year 11, and Tasmanian students have to pass a basic unit called ‘Everyday Maths’.

Last year Professor Chubb released his recommendations for a strategic approach to science and its related fields in a report entitled Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics: Australia’s Future.

Meet the Children’s eSafety Commissioner The Federal Government’s recently-established Office of the Children’s eSafety Commissioner will play a key role in supporting Australian school students who experience serious cyberbullying and aim to help guide all students towards positive online experiences and interactions. The Office was established under the Enhancing Online Safety for Children Act 2015, which took effect on July 1st, and is led by online safety expert Alastair MacGibbon who was appointed to the role of Children’s eSafety Commissioner. “When I talk to people most of them are concerned in same way or another about the way in which their children are interacting with technology,” MacGibbon told Education Matters. “In particular they’re concerned about the effect of people mistreating each other with technology and the catastrophic impact that can have upon a child and the family. “The significance [of the establishment of the Office of the Children’s eSafety Commissioner] is that this is a recognition that we need to deal specifically with the issue of cyberbullying and the Act clearly gives us powers in relation to cyberbullying, but also equally importantly the Office carries on and builds upon the good work that the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) was doing in its Cybersmart education programs. “I see my role as both, in a regulatory capacity dealing with certain types of behaviour online, but perhaps more importantly preventing problems from happening in the first place. Because that’s the only way children will be able to unlock and engage the full power of technology and they’ll only do that if they feel safe in doing so.” Under the new arrangements, social media companies remain the first port of call for those under 18 who want cyberbullying material taken down. If the material is not removed within 48 hours, they can come to the Office to complain.

The Commissioner will operate a complaints system backed by the new legislation to get harmful cyberbullying material targeted at an Australian child down quickly from large social media sites. Under the laws the Commissioner has the power to issue a notice to a large social media service requiring it to remove cyberbullying material targeted at an Australian child and he will also have the power to issue a notice to a person who has posted cyberbullying material targeted at an Australian child, requiring the person to remove the material. MacGibbon said although schools have been dealing with cyberbullying for a long time, and responsible schools have always acted, the Office provides a better tool to help schools continue those actions. “We provide an avenue to escalate matters to hopefully assist children, and therefore schools, particularly when it comes to cyberbullying complaints,” he said. “We will be able to, once the child or trusted adult has complained to the social media service and it hasn’t been taken further, reach out to that social media service to take that material down. So we act as a safety net. “Schools are often going to be the best organisation to deal with the matter because online bullying is probably manifesting itself in an offline way as well, but we also know the online bullying can be quite damaging and vicious, and can follow children around 24 hours a day, and that’s problematic for them.” Along with the Office’s role as a support network and educator it has received $7.5 million funding over three years to assist schools in accessing accredited online safety programs as a voluntary certification program for online safety experts is slated for release soon. For online safety information and resources, or to make a complaint about cyberbullying material or illegal online content, visit www.esafety.gov.au.

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“When I talk to people most of them are concerned in some way or another about the way in which their children are interacting with technology.” Children’s eSafety Commissioner, Alastair MacGibbon

National Education News

The first step to your school’s digital marketing success: Planning I know what you’re saying; “Oh no, do we really need to plan?” One step frequently overlooked by schools when developing a web presence, or embarking on a digital marketing campaign is planning. The old adage ‘Fail to plan = plan to fail’ is so true in this instance! Whilst it is very tempting to skip this step and start talking about the visual components of the website, without this step, any design work really is wasted. We’ll start discussing planning by defining your audience and then we’ll discuss goals. I promise you that this is one of the most important steps you can undertake when planning a new website or campaign.

The first step in planning is to determine who your audience is, and what priorities you give each of them. If we don’t do this, we’re basically ‘flying blind’. Knowing your audience means that you can tailor everything online to suit them, in a way that won’t omit secondary or tertiary audiences.

DEFINING YOUR AUDIENCE The first step in planning is to determine who your audience is, and what priorities you give each of them. If we don’t do this, we’re basically ‘flying blind’. Knowing your audience means that you can tailor everything online to suit them, in a way that won’t omit secondary or tertiary audiences. I’ll explain this later. So when considering audience, you might as an example, list; • Current students and their families • Prospective students and families • Prospective new staff • Wider local community It is important to list your own audiences in order of priority – are prospective students the main focus, or is it more important at the moment to attract new staff? Is the school community at large the most important aspect of your digital marketing focus? Even better is to start defining who these audiences are. For example, you may write; Community Local families without school-aged children and small businesses within our town. Prospective student families People who are considering moving to our city for work. Typically FIFO workers with children aged 8-15. Current students Parents want to get our newsletter electronically and want details of events at their fingertips. Knowing who you are trying to engage will help in writing your content to speak directly to that audience.

DEFINING YOUR GOALS The next step is to determine your goals for this campaign or website. Is it to attract enrolment enquiries, reduce administration staff time by providing detailed information for existing students and their families, or is it to reduce costs of printing your newsletter, by emailing it out instead? Whatever the goal, try to be specific. Whilst it is great to say ‘attract more enrolments’, it would be even greater to say ‘Increase enrolment enquiries by 5% this year for the 2015 school year’. Write a few goals, and list them in order of priority. Some could be short term (the next month or two), others medium term (the next six months) or even long term (more than a year). An example of this would be; Enrolments Increase enquiries for enrolments from 4 a month to 10 a month. Expect a higher enrolment rate for next school year. Reduce newsletter costs Encourage current families to opt-out of printed newsletter, and receive electronic communications. Expect to move 20% of the current 420 families over before end of this year. SUMMARY: PLANNING IN A NUTSHELL We’ve pondered on audience, and created our audience profiles by priority. This helps us in being able to target our content to speak directly to this audience, and should also drive design decisions; we can ask questions such as do we have a large banner promoting enrolments, or do we have a calendar being the visual centre of the homepage? By also defining our goals, we’ve taken this one step further. No longer are we talking about vague thoughts about what we hope the website will achieve; we now have some solid goals to set some priorities to, and get into gear. Miles Burke is an Author, Public Speaker and Managing Director of Perth-based digital agency, Bam Creative. His team has created websites and digital marketing campaigns for dozens of schools, and their work has been featured in the media, won plenty of awards and most of all, helped schools demystify the digital marketing space to attract enrolments and better communicate to their communities.

To follow the complete digital marketing series, subscribe to The Whiteboard by Education Matters online at http://educationmattersmag.com.au/subscribe/

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Events Diary

Upcoming events in education A RANGE OF EVENTS ARE COMING UP ACROSS AUSTRALIA FOR PRINCIPALS AND TEACHERS – FROM PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE CONFERENCES TO TECHNOLOGY EXPOS – CHECK OUT THE LIST BELOW.

OCTOBER

2015 ACSA Biennial Curriculum Conference

30 September – 2 October 2015, Adelaide SA

Curriculum leadership for a diverse Australia www.acsa.edu.au/

PDHPE Teachers’ Association Conference

9-10 October 2015, Sydney NSW

Challenging minds, changing lives www.pdhpeta.org/conference

Improving STEM Education & Skills Outcomes

27-28 October 2015, Melbourne VIC

Driving inquiry-based learning to increase STEM participation www.criterionconferences.com/event/improvingstemeducation/ venue/

SPERA National 31st Conference

4-6 November 2015, Geelong VIC

Mapping education policy landscapes: Rurality and rural futures www.spera.asn.au/

STAVCON 2015

27 November 2015, Melbourne VIC

Unlocking potential through STEM www.sciencevictoria.com.au/STAVCON.html

ALZZ/ALANZ/ALTAANZ 2015 Conference

30 November – 2 December 2015, Learning in a multi-lingual world Adelaide SA www.conveneit.com/secure/onsite/ling_dec_15/

MAV Annual Conference 2015

3-4 December 2015, Melbourne VIC

www.mav.vic.edu.au/

STAWA Future Science 2015

4 December 2015, Perth WA

www.stawa.net/conferences/

Australian Society for French Studies

9-11 December 2015, Newcastle NSW

23rd Annual Conference www.australiansocietyforfrenchstudies.com/events/asfs-2015conference/

National Future Schools Expo + Conferences

3-4 March, Sydney NSW

Shaping the future of Australia’s schools www.futureschools.com.au/

EduTECH 2016

30-31 May, Brisbane QLD

National congress & expo www.edutech.net.au/

NOVEMBER

DECEMBER

MARCH MAY

TO HAVE YOUR ORGANISATION’S EVENT LISTED IN THE NEXT EDITION OF EDUCATION MATTERS MAGAZINE PLEASE EMAIL THE DETAILS TO KATHRYN.EDWARDS@PRIMECREATIVE.COM.AU education matters secondary

Technology

Digital Leaders – student leadership by action, not voice EMPOWERING STUDENTS IN POSITIONS OF RESPONSIBILITY, IN RELATION TO TECHNOLOGY, PROVIDES ASSISTANCE AND SOLUTIONS TO MANY OF THE PROBLEMS THAT SCHOOLS FACE IN THE DIGITAL AGE, WRITES NICK JACKSON.

Nick Jackson is the Senior Leader for Quality Pedagogy & eLearning at Urrbrae Agricultural High School in Adelaide. He is committed to developing contemporary pedagogy and driving effective technology use in education. He is passionate about increasing the involvement of students in technology integration. As well as his role at Urrbrae, Nick regularly tweets on education issues as @largerama, has a personal blog: http://largerama.creativeblogs.net/, runs a collaborative blog: www.learnenabling.com and a website for Digital Leaders: www.ozdls.com. He even finds time to research for a PhD and frequently presents at education conferences.

As we move closer to positioning digital technology as an effective teaching and learning tool, there is an ever-increasing pressure for schools to increase their IT provision and for teachers to increase their skills using technology. Year-on-year, most of the students that enter our schools seem to have been exposed to digital technology from a younger age. The majority of young people have access to laptops, tablets and smart phones and are familiar with making these devices work for them on a social level. Students are required to become digitally literate to meet the demands of their school. Empowering students in positions of responsibility, in relation to technology, provides assistance and solutions to many of the problems that schools face in the digital age. Digital Leaders are simply students chosen for positions of responsibility that can help schools and students improve their use of technology. This is a very broad definition, but it is the flexibility of Digital Leader schemes which allows schools to deploy students in roles that will best address issues of technology integration in their learning environments. BUT WHO EXACTLY ARE DIGITAL LEADERS? Often selected through an in-school application process, Digital Leaders are students who want to get involved with increasingly using technology to enhance their own education and those of the whole school community. Usually, they are students who have an interest in using technology, some

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confidence in use of software tools and/or a desire learn to more about the use of technology for learning. It is often assumed that Digital Leaders are the ‘computer geeks’, the nerds, the programmers or ‘hardcore’ gamers but that is often not the case. Groups of Digital Leaders are usually made up of a mix of different personalities and in many instances this diversity is encouraged as it is more likely that there will be skills to cater for a variety of projects and situations. SO, WHAT DO DIGITAL LEADERS GET INVOLVED IN? Some schools set up Digital Leaders for prescribed purposes. Often, primary schools operate in this way. A school may, for example, have Digital Leaders who perform routine checks on equipment, reporting faults to technicians or even fixing problems. This can be a great assistance where technical support is limited or only part-time. Also on the technical side, there are schools who have students working with their technical support staff. This can take the form of a separate Student Helpdesk or programs more akin to apprenticeship models. Other schools have Digital Leaders that work more closely with teachers and students. These students can be seen in ‘guide-on-the-side’ roles, assisting students and/or teachers in classrooms with using technology. This allows the teacher

Digital Leader meeting

to focus on the subject content rather than on ensuring the digital tools chosen for a task can be used efficiently by students in the class. In more comprehensive versions of teacher assistance, Digital Leaders can be involved in staff training, demonstrating use of technology or assisting staff when schools are integrating new/updated systems. This can also lead to parent training sessions around the use of technology. Digital Leaders are often a great asset with whole-school events, promotion and can be used in community work. This can be in an online form or with media for example: designing websites, blogs, school apps, newsletters, video tours of the school. Yet, Digital Leaders can work well when being a part of events such as assemblies, open days, school expos, parentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s evening, or sports days. During such events, their roles can be technical, presenting

or assisting. Just as there a multitude of ways technology plays a part in our lives, Digital Leaders can play a part in utilising digital tools to enhance what a school does. On a larger scale, Digital Leaders can play an important role in gaining an insight into the effectiveness and issues around IT provision in a school. They can be involved in strategy, testing and decision making. Such a role does not have to be confined to hardware and software though. Digital Leaders can be deployed in planning around curriculum development particularly where the curriculum is heavily dependent on having knowledge of digital technology. MY EXPERIENCES WITH DIGITAL LEADERS My current Digital Leader group is made up of six Year 10 boys and four Year 9 girls. They are a real mix

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of personalities with different skill sets and interests. I meet with them once a week during lunch time and despite only being together for less than a year, they have already been involved in a variety of projects in and out of school. Being able to offer a variety of opportunities for the group comes from my own and shared experiences I have had working with Digital Leaders schemes. I first set up a Digital Leaders scheme about three to four years ago while teaching in the UK. I initially saw the impact of empowering young people when working as a Youth worker in the 1990s prior to training as a teacher. Working on the streets, often with disaffected young people, opened my eyes to what can be achieved when they are given power and authority. I have retained that same passion for empowering young people as I have developed as an educator.

Technology

When I recruited students in my first foray with Digital Leaders, I had no idea what I wanted them to do really, or where I wanted it to lead. I was inspired by Kristian Still and Dan Stucke who had championed the concept on Twitter. I got in touch with them, asking for their advice and insight. The information from those connections gave me the confidence to introduce Digital Leaders into my school. Having done a little promotion via posters and assemblies, I asked for students to apply insisting they show interest in technology by providing an application using digital tools of their choosing. A Year 7 boy provided an application that was in Morse Code! It even translated perfectly into English. He became a Digital Leader with five other boys and two girls from various year groups. At first, their roles seemed trivial until a breakthrough moment came in the school when a Government inspection prompted ideas to improve pedagogical standards in the school. One idea mooted was to video those teachers seen as outstanding as they teach. These videos could then be used in professional development sessions across the school. I had just the people to do the videoing – the Digital Leaders. Their status among the staff in the school soared as a result of this video project. They worked sideby-side with teachers filming them in lessons but, more importantly, editing the videos to highlight areas of best practice. This led to many roles in the school such as assisting teachers in lessons and providing IT training to trainee teachers. The Digital Leaders began to attract attention from other areas of education which saw them in online projects with Microsoft, presenting at conferences and even live on stage talking about their exploits to Royalty. None of this was planned in the beginning and where the concepts originated from depended on the projects in question. Sometimes, I thought up ideas, other times it came from them or from other people in education I introduced them to. Before I left the UK, the Digital Leaders decided to organise their own TeachMeet. This was organised from start to finish by the Digital Leaders with students presenting from various schools, over a hundred teachers in the audience, fully catered and live streamed around the world. The satisfaction I felt in seeing their efforts manifest into such a wonderful event and the praise that was lavished on them, was a defining moment in my career. I knew that having students in Digital

Students teaching students

“…Digital Leaders are students who want to get involved with increasingly using technology to enhance their own education and those of the whole school community.”

Leaders was a vital part of a school who was serious about advancing technology enhanced education practice and that involving young people in education reform has great potential. DIGITAL LEADERS IN AUSTRALIA Before arriving in Australia, I knew, via social media, that there were already a few schools who had versions of Digital Leaders deployed in their schools. Despite working in Higher Education at the time, I worked hard at connecting with these schools and setting up new schemes mainly via my website www.ozdls.com. There are, at present, in excess of 20 schools who have Digital Leaders that I know about and I am sure there are others who are empowering students with technology in similar ways that I am not connected with. Again, work with Digital Leaders I set up in various schools, produced an eclectic mix of projects. One example that comes to mind was last year when I organised 19 Digital Leaders from Wirreanda High School in Adelaide to be a key part of the National

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ACEC conference. They provided a backchannel and media roles throughout the conference. Many delegates commented on how significant their roles were in making the conference a success and what a difference they made to the event. I am sure this has influenced many other conference providers who seem to regularly involve students in similar ways. DIGITAL LEADERS IN MY SCHOOL I made it clear from when I started working in my current role at Urrbrae Agricultural High School that I wanted Digital Leaders to play an important role in technology integration in the school. Rather than just use a recruitment process, as I had previously done, I advertised for interested students and also identified suitable students through my Media classes. In less than a year, the Urrbrae Digital Leaders have already achieved so much. They have tested robotics equipment for use in our Tech Deck, built websites for teachers, helped with media events in assemblies, created ‘how to’ videos, assisted teachers and students in classroom activities involving

Students teaching teachers

Digital Leaders are often a great asset with whole-school events, promotion and can be used in community work. This can be in an online form or with media for example: designing websites, blogs, school apps, newsletters, video tours of the school.

technology and presented at another school. However, their greatest impact has come from two key projects: Firstly, the Digital Leaders led workshops on a teacher training day, training all staff how to use Google Apps. As I had seen in previous work empowering students in such schemes, there is usually a point where teachers in a school see the true value of their Digital Leaders. This was that moment at Urrbrae. The praise from staff, the relationships and the quality of their training put these students in the spotlight in so many ways. From this, they began to be considered a major part of the schoolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s contemporary culture. More recently, I brought together Digital Leaders from Urrbrae and two other schools in Adelaide â&#x20AC;&#x201C;

Wirreanda and Woodville High schools, to unpack Digital Citizenship. This involved over 30 students in a conference room at UniSA for two days, researching, debating, discussing and providing comprehensive plans for the teaching of this subject in their respective schools. My Digital Leaders presented these findings and a letter of recommendation to the Principal and leaders in the school. This is seriously impacting on methods and content for teaching Digital Citizenship at Urrbrae AHS and I know it is having similar impact for the other schools involved. FUTURE PLANS As far as the Digital Leaders are concerned, they already have a busy agenda for the rest of the year

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with a follow up training and development session on Google Apps and the possibility of working with a feeder primary school on their expo day among projects in the pipeline. They are also putting together a Google Apps accreditation scheme for Year 8s in the school that will run in term 4. This is intended to not only improve the skills of more students across the school but inspire younger students in the school to become part of the Digital Leader group. On a personal note, I am in the second year of a part-time PhD, focussing on the work and impact of Digital Leaders. This research, along with trying to expand ozdls.com, I see as an important part of the development of technology integration in schools. I want to further connect with Digital Leader groups across Australia and help anyone who wants to set up a scheme in their school. I envisage an online map of the country with hundreds of pins showing Digital Leader groups in schools in every state. I would also love to see students being deployed at a strategic level by schools, boards of education or even at a Federal level. Now, that really would be an eye opening example of student leadership by action not voice.

Technology

BUT WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO THE STUDENTS? Lauren Being in a Digital Leader group has helped me gain many skills. For instance, I have learnt teaching skills from when I trained teachers to use Google. I learned how to communicate with them and different approaches to teach them. In order to teach the teachers how to use Google Apps, I also learned a lot about how to use the applications as I hadn’t used it much before. Now, I use Google Apps for a lot of my school work. I have also gained better communication and listening skills, confidence and made new friends from being a part of a Digital Citizenship workshop. The workshop had a few other schools there with lots of other students like us who are interested in digital learning. In the workshop we shared ideas with each other and worked together to come up with different things. At the end of the two day workshops I had made lots of new friends, had gained confidence and lots more knowledge about digital citizenship.

Rosie By being a part of Digital Leaders, I’ve gained many new skills, such as teaching, confidence, using technology and working with others. As a Digital Leader, I have had the opportunity to run a workshop for teachers at our school. I started the day rather nervous about what was going to happen but left with new skills after teaching the teachers. I also developed teamwork and communication skills after working with fellow students from other schools to discover for ourselves what Digital Citizenship meant to us and our schools.

Rhianna I think that one of the best things about being a Digital Leader is all the new experiences and opportunities that I would never have the chance to do otherwise. One of these experiences was when all the Digital Leaders and I spent a day teaching all the teachers at school about Google Apps for education. It gave us the chance to step up into the position of a teacher and gain important new skills, like how to help others understand something that they find hard, as well as just having a good time. Another great thing I got to do was go to UniSA for two days and help design a new part of the school curriculum on Digital Citizenship. It was really good to have the chance to be a part of something like that and it was also good just to get the chance to work together with other students from different schools.

Angus When I was asked to join the Digital Leaders program, I was unsure what to expect. After being part of the program for six months, I have had multiple experiences which have all been very valuable. The first task I took part in was introducing Google Apps to the teachers. At the start of the day, I was very nervous about standing in front of a room of teachers. The role reversal was a very strange experience but I soon realised that people will quickly learn to respect someone if they display courage and a willingness to help. As soon as this became apparent I began to project my voice and earn the teachers’ attention. It also made me realise the importance of explaining things slowly, and in a calm manner, as many people don’t have the same knowledge that you might have. Not only has this helped me in public speaking and class presentations, but in my general life. It is also something I can put on my resume. I have also earned the respect of many of the teachers who I taught in my class. The day after our Google Apps classes, I had numerous teachers come to me in the corridors and school yard to thank or congratulate me for my lessons the day prior. This boosted my self-confidence and relationships with teachers. As well as personal development and respect from teachers, I needed to learn an aspect of Google Apps I had never explored before. I now know how to make surveys and tests using Google Apps. It has even given me a better understanding of how to use spreadsheets. Our ‘kids teaching teachers’ program is still continuing and we hope to have more follow up sessions so the teachers can realise the full potential of online and digital tools in an educational setting.

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Technology

Introducing the New ViewSonic range of large-format touchscreens FOUNDED IN CALIFORNIA IN 1987, VIEWSONIC IS A WORLD-LEADING VISUAL SOLUTIONS PROVIDER WITH MORE THAN 30 LOCAL OFFICES AROUND THE WORLD, INCLUDING AUSTRALIA, AND IS IN THE TOP THREE VISUAL DISPLAY PRODUCT BRANDS IN THE USA. ITS PRODUCTS ARE SOLD IN MORE THAN 125 COUNTRIES AND HAVE THE DISTINCTION OF BEING AWARDED MORE THAN 3,000 AWARDS GLOBALLY FOR BOTH ITS PRODUCTS AND SERVICES.

ViewSonic have recently launched their impressive new range of large-format, highdefinition, 10-point touch display range in Australia; providing truly professional hardware functionality and customised software integration, manufactured to stringent commercial build

quality standards. The following is a detailed walk through of these pro-features. EASY PC-FREE PRESENTATIONS The range comes equipped with a powerful ARM dual-core processor, and built in functionality

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such as the 10-point touch-enabled, annotation software (ViewBoard Lite), allowing multiple users the ability to write, draw or annotate with fingers or stylus devices simultaneously as well as multimedia playback of files directly via the onboard 8GB memory or USB drive - All without a PC connected.

CLASSROOM SAFETY & DURABILITY A rounded-corner design provides a safer learning environment for active students by helping to prevent injuries in the classroom and all models also feature 7H scratch- resistant surface hardness that ensures durability. In addition, an anti-glare film improves screen visibility in bright environments. A magnetic feature of the bezel also provides the perfect spot for the stylus when it is not in use.

ADVANCED ANNOTATION SOFTWARE All units ship with ViewBoard 2.0 PC edition whiteboard annotation software. This advancedfeatured version of the software lets you write, highlight, edit, and transform documents and images on-screen in real-time while also providing the ability to record lessons for electronic distribution and later playback. ViewSonic have also incorporated education specific templates, enhancing student engagement and teaching efficiency. Beyond this included software, a growing list of free and low-cost apps are available via the Windows Store, giving educators greater access to cutting-edge, low-cost, education applications.

INTEGRATED EYE-CARE TECHNOLOGY The range adopts Flicker-free and Blue Light Filter eye-care technologies. By nearly eliminating screen flickering at all brightness levels by providing a constant LED light source whilst also reducing blue light exposure, the display ensures increased eye comfort and eye-health. OPTIONAL SLOT-IN PC You can also take advantage of the optional slot-in PC with Windows® Pro OS and ViewBoard 2.0 whiteboard annotation software. Using this slot-in PC gives you integrated, powerful Windows computing. MULTI-DEVICE MANAGEMENT RS232 connectivity allows IT personnel to conveniently manage multiple displays, configure devices, and upgrade firmware from a centralised location. This provides schools the ability to better

maintain and control large numbers of displays from a single location. 3-YEARS ONSITE WARRANTY ViewSonic has had a local office in Australia since 2002 and provide local, post-sale technical support and exceptional warranty conditions. For example in instances where required ViewSonic will dispatch a technician to provide on-site warranty repair and/ or will arrange for collection and swapping of items where needed. Being a leading global brand, with an emphasis on visual display technologies coupled with a demonstrated long-standing commitment to the Australian market, you can certainly enjoy peace of mind in the build-quality, reliability and support of your school’s investment. ViewSonic is a US based brand name synonymous with innovative visual displays that has supplied Australian customers with quality products for over 15 years. The ViewSonic interactive commercial display range is available in Available in 55” 65” 70” (Full HD) and 84” (4K) and is can be used with Windows and Mac operating systems.

For more information and exclusive education pricing contact: www.thefuturetech.co

hello@thefuturetech.co

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02 9227 8600

Technology

St Joseph’s College chooses Epson EB-595Wi interactive projectors ULTRA-SHORT THROW.

St Joseph’s College (also known as SJC or Joeys) is a Catholic, secondary, day and boarding school for boys located in Hunters Hill, New South Wales. Founded by the Marist Brothers in 1881, SJC currently caters for approximately 1,100 students from years 7 to 12 including over 600 boarders, making it the largest boarding school in Australia and one of the largest in the southern hemisphere. Recently SJC was renovating a series of classrooms and the college investigated a range of audio visual solutions to be installed as part of the renovation. Establishing an interactive component within those audio visual requirements lead to a review of current technologies that included an interactive element and ultimately to the purchase

of multiple Epson EB-595Wi interactive projectors. ICT Director at St Joseph’s College Graeme Kachel explained, “Some key requirements were that the projectors had to have excellent interactive capabilities and a bright and clear visual display that would enhance the teaching and learning activities. Another key factor was to maximise the whiteboard space, as a whiteboard pen is still an important interactive tool in a teacher’s hand.” Kachel explored all available options and deemed the EB-595Wi to best suit SJC’s requirements. He added, “The fact that the finger touch element creates a large interactive space out of the whiteboard and that students and

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staff would naturally see how to interact with it without a special pen or specialised software was a huge plus. This also means there is no real impediment to the projector’s usage. In fact the projector becomes a large input device for any activity or web tool the teacher is using. The clarity and reliability of the Epson projectors is well known, and in over seven years of installing Epson projectors in our classrooms, I have not had a single issue. That said, the finger touch capacity that removes the need for a special pen to be utilised is absolutely key.” The ultra-short-throw EB-595Wi is the world’s first 3LCD, touch-enabled interactive projector. Offering 3x brighter colours* than competitive models, Epson 3LCD projectors ensure bright, vivid lessons. With 3,300 lumens of colour brightness and 3,300 lumens of white brightness, the EB-595Wi delivers truly dynamic images and takes kinesthetic learning to new heights. With touch-and pen-based interactivity, the EB-595Wi makes it easy to draw and collaborate using any wall and familiar, intuitive gestures. Teachers can also use the Moderator software to simultaneously share students’ work from multiple devices. According to Kachel the EB-595Wi gives the teachers and students at St Joseph’s College an “edge” over using other projectors as he explained saying, “I believe the natural and intuitive approach the finger touch capability leads to better learning outcomes in the classroom. Its simplicity, and bright and clear digital presentation is great and it does not interfere with the front of the classroom. The EB-595Wi is also very discrete compared to large interactive boards and displays.” Epson’s Ultra Short Throw range is targeted

specifically at educational institutions with the flagship interactive model EB-595Wi the world’s first 3LCD, finger touch-enabled interactive projector offering teachers and students a far more engaging experience and intuitive operation than ever before. The EB-595Wi with its better brightness allows the screen to be easily viewed from anywhere in the classroom without dimming lights and its increased contrast ratio (now 10,000:1) and longer lamp life (up to 6,000 hours in ECO mode) gives better cost efficiencies and savings than ever before. Digital connectivity is a big feature of the EB595Wi as it includes two HDMI ports with one port supporting MHL (Mobile High Definition Link) for mirroring connectivity with Android™ mobile devices. The projector also allows wireless projection when used with an optional LAN card (using peer to peer wireless and Epson’s EasyMP Network Projection software version 2.81 or later) and projector control using Multi-PC projection software with a Moderator function which enables up to 50 devices to connect to the projector and the managing and controlling of up to four images displayed on the screen. The EB-595Wi also boasts a 16W built-in speaker with enough audio power to fill most classrooms and advanced networking capabilities for when users need to

monitor, control and present from a remote location. There is no driver installation required for PCs and lamps can be replaced for just $79. The features don’t stop there as the EB-595Wi model uses Epson’s latest and enhanced PC interactive software (Easy Interactive Tools version 3.0) giving an intuitive user interface and enhanced interactive features. The projector also offers dual pen interactivity enabling teacher and student to annotate at the same time. A new, smaller pen now comes with selectable function side button and a new onscreen projector control tool bar which allows users to power OFF, switch sources, zoom in and out and turn the volume up and down. No need to look for the remote, you can control the projector directly from the screen! At St Joseph’s College most daytime lessons in general purpose learning spaces and seminar rooms would use an EB-595Wi with the audio visual requirements of a modern learning environment truly dictating their exact use. Kachel concluded, “Staff are growing their use of the interactive nature of the EB-595Wi projector, especially with programs such as Microsoft Word® or OneNote®, as well as Adobe Acrobat®, to interact and annotate natively within these programs. Often

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a teacher of year 12 will annotate within a past HSC exam and be able to accurately capture that work for students to access from our learning management system. In truth I would also love to have some EB-595Wis installed in spaces where students can interact in study groups as well. The consistency and quality of the projectors is fantastic and we have had only good reports from staff regarding the projector installations.” *Compared to leading 1-chip DLP business and education projectors based on NPD data, July 2011 through June 2012. Colour brightness (colour light output) measured in accordance with IDMS 15.4. Colour brightness will vary depending on usage conditions.

Technology

B USI NE SS & E D U C A T I O N

Harvey Norman Business and Education leading the way in Education At Harvey Norman Business and Education, our objective is to provide technology and solutions that enhance the student learning experience and deliver improved learning outcomes. Our BYOD Program ensures an effective execution of your school’s student device strategy. We strongly believe in the importance of supporting our local communities and in doing so, we can offer your school unparalleled levels of service and support. The Harvey Norman Business and Education team can provide your school with services beyond just BYOD, including:

ANTHONY KOLA NATIONAL EDUCATION MANAGER HARVEY NORMAN BUSINESS AND EDUCATION After working in IT sales for over 10 years, I now specialise in consultative solution selling to the K-12 education sector. I find enabling schools with technology much more rewarding than working with corporations as the key motivations for change are the improvement of student learning outcomes, rather than commercial drivers’ savings or profitability. I believe that an Education Technology Partner should seek to transform the way that schools teach and the way that students learn and not simply supply schools with product. It is my personal mandate to shift school relationships with Harvey Norman Business and Education from ‘transactional’ to ‘strategic’. By having autonomy, staffing and resources to leverage the global buying power of the Harvey Norman brand, allows us to deliver unparalleled value to Australian schools and universities.

•P ersonalised Web Portals built to provide parents with an easy method of obtaining approved devices, while reducing the effort required by your school in managing enquiries, purchases, fulfilment and ongoing support; • Mobile Device Management Solutions using products aimed at improving the management of multiple devices in classrooms; • Interactive Digital Display Solutions or standard large format displays for classrooms as well as digital signage solutions for common areas; • Professional Development ensuring that teachers are trained to deliver lesson plans with their new devices; and, •M anaged Print Solutions via FujiXerox Printers to ensure schools are getting the best value with our added offer of a free print audit. We would like the opportunity to consult with your school around BYOD and present some ideas on how we can assist you, your teachers and your students. Call us on 1300 781 865 to talk with one of our Education Account Managers.

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INTEL DEVICES WITH SOLUTIONS Technology is an essential part of everyday life for the vast majority of students. So much so that a laptop, PC or tablet has now taken its place alongside the pen and paper in a student’s educational toolkit. And powerful tools they are, too. Mobile computers help students research material relevant to their studies, write essays and complete homework. All of which provides valuable experience, helping them to succeed in an increasingly technology-driven world. For teachers, the benefits of mobile computing are equally compelling. It helps them to plan lessons, keep up with marking, as well as work on and store reports, giving them more time to spend with students. But the benefits of mobile computers in a learning environment are multiplied considerably when all students and teachers within a school or college are equipped with compatible devices. It enables students to interact with each other and their teachers, collaborate on projects, upload comments and

homework, and receive feedback from teachers and peers. Teachers can post lesson plans, homework, tasks and resources for their students to access. They can employ a variety of apps to make teaching more interactive, more engaging and more rewarding, and share those resources with colleagues. But to achieve these benefits, it’s important to choose the right tools for the job. The Intel® Teach professional development program helps teachers smoothly integrate new technology into lessons, manage classroom participation and comprehension, and even develop appropriate assessments. Intel open architecture works with a wide range of software and tools, and features cool devices that have built-in security with extraordinary battery life. By partnering with Harvey Norman Business and Education and Intel, ensures you are supported with every aspect of transformative learning. Get more than a device, get a solution that works as hard as you do.

FOR STUDENTS, A 17 HOUR BATTERY LIFE CAN BE A LIFE SAVER It can be very disruptive when a student’s device runs out of battery in class. Harvey Norman Business and Education are partnering with vendors like Toshiba to provide education devices that offer exceptional range. Toshiba’s Z20t for instance, has a battery in the keyboard and another in the tablet, and can run for up to 17 hours. This means students can spend the day at school, go home, do their homework, forget to recharge, go to school the next day and still work all day! Long battery life also reduces the need for in-class recharging and the OHS risk of cables. Battery life is something to consider when selecting devices for school use.

STM & HARVEY NORMAN BUSINESS AND EDUCATION STM design and build laptop and tablet protective solutions specifically for the education market. With years of feedback from teachers and education IT specialists, STM cases and bags are built to the highest quality standards to protect your digital products and ultimately save you money. Harvey Norman Business and Education work closely with STM to design co-branded products with school logos. Co-branding not only makes identifying devices easy, but it is also a fantastic phone 1300 781 865

education@harveynormanbusiness.com.au

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TOP OF opportunity to increase school pride and THE CLAS S increase awareness of your school and its FOR DEVIC E P R OTECTION resources, resulting in bigger enrolments each year. STM and Harvey Norman Business and Education purchase programs are fully supported with appropriate stock levels and short lead times. STM takes pride in its products and offers product lifetime warranties with worldclass customer service as well as ensuring products are built from the inside out for added device protection.

www.harveynormanbusiness.com.au

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Technology

Fujitsu ScanSnap SV600 – A new perspective on scanning SMOOTH OPERATION IN OVERHEAD SCANNING ENHANCED WITH NEW CUSTOMISED FEATURES WHILE CONTINUING THE SCANSNAP CONCEPT: SIMPLE, FAST AND COMPACT.

The Fujitsu ScanSnap SV600 is changing the landscape of printing. We are seeing printing opening doors to scanning books without hassle and digitising 3D objects such as school kids artwork. The SV600 is capable of high quality scanning of large documents up to A3 size in a compact unit. The SV600 uses new Versatile Imaging (VI) Technology that maintains high image quality and ensures user-friendly operation.

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INFORMATION IS JUST A SCAN AWAY! Imagine that instead of paying for a textbook, you are able to just borrow it from the library, and in five minutes, scan the important pages directly to your computer. On top of that, ScanSnap scanners convert your files into searchable PDFs, so you can save time by easily searching a scanned document for exactly what you need. Think how easy it would be to search through your book using just the ‘Ctrl+F’ function.

Technology

The SV600 can directly scan large documents (up to A3 size) as well as bound books to document quality. It maintains the ScanSnap series’ reputation for sharp scanned data images as well as inheriting the iconic “One Touch” feature from the ScanSnap Series. Unique features of the SV600 include an in-built “Book Image Correction” (ability to remove distortion caused by the curve of an open book) feature and “Page Turning Detection” feature, which initiates the scanning operation via the detection of page turning movements. The release of the SV600 with its simple and fast desktop to digital data capture capability, allows the scanning of documents such as broadsheets and thick books that were previously difficult to handle. Its compact design and overhead scanning operation, reduces desktop footprint and even allows capture of multiple business card details just by scattering them within the scanning area. This is a welcome addition to the ScanSnap series of personal scanners, which deliver fast and simple document digitization to PDF.”

SV600 FEATURES 1. Easy to digitizs different document types using the new VI Technology VI Technology combines a lens with variable depth of field, a direction controlled LED lamp and a CCD linear image sensor to minimise unevenness in image quality. This ensures distortion is removed and scanning produces uniform document quality. As a result even large documents and bound books can be easily digitised. (1) Able to scan newspapers and magazines up to A3 size No need to cut or fold. Simply position the documents, books, newspapers, within the scanning area and they can be easily scanned. Thick documents (up to 30mm) such as books or greeting cards, and even those with sticky notes attached can be scanned directly without difficulty. (2) Able to scan old or delicate documents Because the SV600 does not touch any document surface it is possible to scan precious items that would otherwise be damaged by too much handling or feeding into ordinary ADF scanners. 2. All-in-one unit lets you create and read your own digital books The page turning detection function and the image correction feature, greatly simplify and speed the scanning of book pages. Rack2-Filer Smart and Magic Desktop software, makes SV600 the all-in-one model for organising and enabling the reading of scanned images as digital books. (1) Book Image Correction automatically corrects the distortion caused by the curve of an opened book Scanned images can be confirmed and fine-tuned using the preview dialog to ensure that the data scanned from magazines and books is as sharp as the original. (2) Page Turning Detection makes continuous page scanning efficient SV600 automatically detects when a page is turned, allowing books to be scanned at a rate of 3 seconds per open pair of pages. (3) Easy Book Creation converts image data to digital books with ease The new “Rack2-filer Smart” and “Easy Book Creation” features can automatically create a virtual book based on the front cover, back cover and spine of the original. It can also be placed in a virtual bookshelf for easy selection.

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3. Other benefits (1) Fast start up and scanning times The SV600 is ready to scan in three seconds after switch on. Three seconds are needed to scan large A3 size documents. (2) “Multiple Document Detection” feature enables scanning and cropping of multiple documents in a single scan Ideal for multiple business cards, sets of photographs, business receipts, as the SV600 does the cropping automatically. (3) Additional Bundled Software “Nuance® Power PDF Standard” for editing PDF files, and “CardMinder” for managing business cards, are buddled as standard with the SV600. PRODUCT INFORMATION SITE www.fujitsu.com/au/products/computing/ peripheral/scanners/scansnap/sv600/index.html Or contact Proscan for pricing and purchase options www.proscan.com.au/brands/fujitsu

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au.fujitsu.com/scanners

Technology

The cost-effective and efficient printing solution for your classroom BUSINESS MANAGER PRINTING – SOUTH PACIFIC FOR HP, BEN VIVODA, SPEAKS EXCLUSIVELY WITH EDUCATION MATTERS MAGAZINE EDITOR KATHRYN EDWARDS ABOUT HP PAGEWIDE TECHNOLOGY AND HOW YOUR SCHOOL CAN BENEFIT FROM A MULTIFUNCTION PRINTER IN EVERY CLASSROOM.

WHAT NEW TECHNOLOGY SHOULD ALL SCHOOLS KNOW ABOUT FOR THEIR CLASSROOM? We are especially excited about our HP PageWide Technology. This next generation HP technology has been available for some time in our large production printers but only recently has been developed into a classroom-sized printer. Our PageWide Technology delivers amazing benefits to schools looking for affordable printing,

whilst achieving the speeds of a traditional laser printer. We believe the HP OfficeJet Pro X is the perfect teacher’s aide. GIVEN THE INCREASED NUMBER OF PERSONAL SYSTEMS IN THE CLASSROOM, DOES THAT MEAN SCHOOLS WILL BE PRINTING LESS? Students and teachers will always have the need to print classwork for collaboration, sharing or submission. The important thing for schools

to know about HP printers is we make it easy for students and teachers to connect their devices to print by using network-enabled printing and even mobile-enabled printing for their Windows, Google Chrome, Android™ or Apple® devices – all at no additional charge. Students can even print outside of the classroom using HP ePrint capabilities to have assignments submitted and waiting for their teacher to collect at the deadline. GIVEN ALL THE WAYS A STUDENT CAN CONNECT TO THE PRINTER, DOES THIS PLACE INCREASED RISK ON THE NETWORKS’ SECURITY? HP views security as a very important topic when it comes to our technology, as such the OfficeJet Pro X supports security standard and protocols that help secure the printer, protect information on your network, and simplify monitoring and maintenance of the printer. All HP printers come standard with HP Web Jetadmin, meaning you can manage all of your HP and non-HP printers with one simple tool. The HP Embedded Web Server allows the ability to enable and conjure printer firewall rules, priorities and policies to provide a network-layer of security on both IPv4 and IPv6 networks.

HP OfficeJet Pro X576dw MFP

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GIVEN AN ONGOING PRESSURE FOR SCHOOLS TO PROVIDE THE BEST LEARNING EXPERIENCE WITH SHRINKING BUDGETS, WHAT CAN SCHOOLS DO TO KEEP PRINTING COSTS UNDER CONTROL? Colour printing can be expensive if not monitored, therefore HP Web Jetadmin is a great tool that administrators can use to centrally monitor and manage the output of every printer.

Looking at the PageWide technology specifically, the beauty of this platform is that as an inkjet based printer, schools can experience up to 50% less cost per page in comparisons to equivalent laser printers, making colour printing affordable. Duplex printing is an effective way to save paper and also printing in draft mode is a great feature to use when students don’t need high-quality print outputs for basic class work. WITH A CLASSROOM SIZE AVERAGING 30, CAN TEACHERS AFFORD TO WASTE TIME WAITING FOR EVERY STUDENT TO QUEUE AT THE PRINTER? HP’s PageWide technology prints the width of the page, much like a laser printer, meaning there is no sacrifice in performance or speed of printing. The OfficeJet Pro X576 is capable of printing up to 70 pages per minute, and as an inkjet printer it can deliver a fast first page out as there’s no need to wait for the toner fuser to warm up before printing can commence, meaning students can spend more time learning and less time at the printer. IF SCHOOLS WERE TO MAKE ONE OF THESE PRINTERS AVAILABLE IN EVERY CLASSROOM, SHOULD THEY EXPECT TO SEE A GREAT INCREASE IN THEIR ELECTRICITY BILL? Because these devices have no fuser, they consume much less energy than many colour lasers in their class. This is one of the benefits of inkjet printing in achieving faster printing speeds. Administrators can save even more energy by presetting their printers to turn on when you need it and off when you don’t. The OfficeJet Pro X printers meet ISO specifications for use in cleanrooms – making them perfect for sensitive environments where airborne particulates need to be minimised.

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE BENEFITS SCHOOLS CAN EXPERIENCE BY MAKING A PRINTER AVAILABLE IN EVERY CLASSROOM? HP printers are not just an output device, our Multifunction printers have complete scanning and digitisation capabilities that enable the printer to become a ramp on and off the cloud. This is known as document workflow, it blurs the line between digital and hardcopy to free up valuable time for teaching. Printed classwork can be digitised at fast speeds by scanning work; to be saved to network folders, email and more. WITH A PRINTER IN EVERY CLASSROOM, WILL THIS MEAN MORE WORK FOR THE IT DEPARTMENT TO KEEP THEM RUNNING? Our HP OfficeJet Pro X printers are designed for longevity, through and through – with minimal parts that wear over time. The more things move, the more they wear – with HP PageWide, the only thing that moves is the paper. We have optimised the paper path to help reduce the risk of interruptions. A recent reliability report from Buyers Laboratory Inc. (BLI) tested four HP OfficeJet Pro x551dw printers in printing a collective 500,000 impressions over a 135 business day period. Final results saw minimal misfeeds and interventions, on average one misfeed per 83,333 impressions which is about one jam every 13.89 months.

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SO AN INK PRINTER, DOES THAT MEAN PRINTS COME OUT WET AND SMUDGE EASY? HP Pigment Ink is made of specially-formulated pigments that deliver highly-saturated colours and the blackest blacks that resist smearing, water spills, and highlighter smudges. The quality is greater when used together with HP ColorLok® paper, which when combined delivers prints that are certified to last for decades without fading.

Ben Vivoda Business Manager, Printing, South Pacific HP, has been working with the HP PPS Australia for close to ten years, holding various positions within HP’s printing business. Ben currently heads up HP’s printing division.

Technology

One giant festival for all of education EDUTECH 2016 IS DESIGNED TO IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF TEACHING AND LEARNING WITHIN AUSTRALIA AND THE ASIA-PACIFIC REGION. Kathy Schrock has been a school district Director of Technology, an instructional technology specialist, a middle school, academic, museum, and a public library librarian. She is currently an online graduate-level professor for US-based Wilkes University and an independent educational technologist. Kathy is known for her practical presentations dealing with pedagogically-sound practices for the embedding of technology seamlessly into teaching and learning. Kathy’s passions are online tools to support classroom instruction, the role of emerging technologies in the classroom, infographics, tablets in the classroom, assessment and rubrics, copyright and intellectual property, and gadgets of any type! She has been involved with technology to support teaching and learning since the early 1990s, and is an Adobe Education Leader, a Google Certified Teacher, and a Discovery Education STAR and Guru. Kathy has received numerous awards for her work, including a People’s Choice Webby, both the ISTE and MassCUE Making IT Happen Award, has served on the ISTE Board of Directors for two terms, and has worked with the US Department of Education on several educational technology initiatives.

Preparations are underway for the biggest education event in the Southern Hemisphere and Asia-Pacific, EduTECH 2016. Made up of eight unique conferences, eight post-event masterclasses and one giant education expo, over 8000 professionals are expected to descend on Brisbane’s Convention & Exhibition Centre on May 30th and 31st. Attendance at EduTECH will give you unparalleled networking with educators from across the region, exclusive access to some of Australia and the world’s most well-regarded education experts, as well as the exclusive chance to see the latest advancements in technology from the world’s leading innovators. What’s more, your attendance at EduTECH counts towards PD/professional learning activities which you can record with your relevant state teacher registration board. US-based global educational technologist Kathy Schrock will present on the topic ‘Weaving Information Literacy Skills to Engage Learners’ at EduTECH 2016, as well as host an interactive workshop. Kathy spoke exclusively with Education Matters magazine editor Kathryn Edwards about the evolution of technology use in the classroom and what delegates can expect from her keynote presentation and workshop at EduTECH. HOW HAS TECHNOLOGY INTEGRATION IN THE CLASSROOM EVOLVED DURING YOUR TIME IN THE EDUCATION SECTOR? The use of technology to support teaching and learning has changed dramatically in the 20 years I have been in education. “Technology” back then meant a single teacher computer in a classroom with a word processing program we used to create worksheets. And, those of us that had an interest in numbers, used a spreadsheet program to create our own grade book! When the Internet first came about, I brought in a modem from home and, as a teacher librarian,

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would search the text-based databases of universities to find information to help students in their research projects. Next saw classroom pods of desktop computers for students to use, mostly set up as learning centres for remediation and research on the new CD-ROM electronic encyclopaedia. It was not until we had computer labs and classroom sets of Alphasmarts and Palm Pilots that we began to see the use of the devices for anytime-anywhere usage, and, in the labs, for creation of videos and podcasts. Those first one-to-one devices, of course, have morphed into the small laptops and tablets that we have today, and, with the availability of software and apps to support any content area and the proliferation of one-to-one and BYOD/ BYOT initiatives, technology is now embedded seamlessly across the curriculum for both information seeking, remediation and extension, and creation. TODAY, ARE THERE STILL MANY CHALLENGES OR BARRIERS TO TECHNOLOGY ADAPTATION IN THE CLASSROOM? IF SO, HOW ARE SCHOOLS WORKING TO ALLEVIATE THESE? In my opinion, some barriers to the use of technology in the classroom to support teaching and learning are still there. With the move towards BYOD/BYOT initiatives in some schools, the range of devices that students bring in can vary widely. In addition, there are students who do not have their own device due to the cost to the family. With the range of devices, I feel it is difficult for teachers to develop an assessment for students that would look and feel the same way on a variety of devices. I am a big proponent of school-supplied devices to level the playing field for those that cannot afford devices and to provide each student with the device they need to succeed with their studies. Many schools are moving away from BYOD/BYOT programs to solve these two challenges, and are budgeting to supply students with devices.

The second barrier, once the devices are in the classroom, is the ability for students to share the work on their devices with other students, the teacher, and the whole class. In addition to having the devices in each student’s hands, it is important to have the hardware and software in place to share across the Wi-Fi or Bluetooth networks, and to be able to project to a large screen for whole-class sharing. Schools are moving toward purchasing large TV/monitors and some hardware device or software solution (whether it be AppleTV, Chromecast, the Reflector App, etc.) to allow sharing of work from the personal devices to the whole class. In addition, school network managers are setting up classroom-based networks which allow students to share assets and content across the network from their device to another’s. IN YOUR OPINION, HOW HAVE TEACHERS SEEMED TO COPE WITH THE RAPID CHANGES IN THE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT? School districts have invested time in professional development for teachers and classroom teachers understand how the technology can support teaching and learning and become an integral part of the classroom workflow. With access to many other educators via social media channels, whether via Twitter, Google+, Pinterest, or Facebook, the classroom teacher is easily able to find other teachers at their grade level across the world, share successful practices, and bounce ideas off their personal learning network. Educators are always quick to help other educators and these social media channels provide the impetus for educators to take the risk and try something new in the

the quality, usefulness, and relevance of the found information, ethically utilise and cite the resources consulted, and use newly-found knowledge to create a project and communicate effectively to an audience, will provide students with the skills they need for whatever content they are studying. Although I am known for my work in using technology to support teaching and learning, as a teacher librarian, I was trained in these information literacy skills because I used to be the one that answered the questions for teachers and students. With information at the hands of everyone now, it is imperative that each student become proficient with the information literacy skill set.

classroom. In addition, every educator has their own area of interest and passion, and, by sharing their resources, new finds, and ideas, other teachers can always find an “expert” to interact with! LOOKING AT YOUR KEYNOTE... HOW IMPORTANT IS IT TO ENGAGE STUDENTS IN TYPES OF LEARNING THAT HELP THEM RETAIN CONTENT AND TURN IT INTO PERSONAL KNOWLEDGE? The information literacy skill set, in my opinion, forms the basis for all other learning. Being able to articulate their information need, access the appropriate tools to search for information, evaluate

EduTECH 2016 is designed to improve the quality of teaching and learning within Australia and the Asia-Pacific region. It is the only event that brings together schools, tertiary education, VET, and workplace learning under one roof. EduTECH 2016 will offer one large-scale exhibition with eight parallel conferences covering the entire learning life-cycle, plus post-event masterclasses for a more tailored and intimate learning experience. You can register online at www.edutech.net.au and take advantage of the special early bird rates until 1st December 2015. By adding a post-congress masterclass to your registration, you get the chance to spend a whole day learning from one of the world’s leading education thinkers.

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WHAT TYPES OF LEARNING HELP ACHIEVE THIS AND WHICH ONES WILL YOU TALK ABOUT IN YOUR PRESENTATION? In the presentation, I start with a graphic that is entitled ‘10 Things Learners Pay Attention To’. I work through each of the 10 tenets, and provide technology-based solutions to help teachers steer students to resources that can help them develop the information literacy skills. For example, the first item I discuss is questions. I include ideas on how teachers can engage students with questions, and, at the same time, encourage the students to think about using this same process of essential question development when determining their information need. This is followed by resources for both educators and students to support this area. And the presentation goes on from there to include the areas of controversy, contrast, comparisons, brevity, stories, emotions, lists, problem-solving, and visuals. WHAT CAN PARTICIPANTS EXPECT FROM YOUR WORKSHOP AT EDUTECH? During my workshop at EduTECH entitled, ‘Using Infographics as a Creative Student Assessment’, attendees will learn how to use the creation of an infographic as an assessment with students, explore samples of infographics that can be developed to showcase different information needs, and learn how to easily create an infographic using a number of tools to communicate information in a visual way to reach an audience. During the workshop, attendees will create their own infographic using an online tool (or iPad app) and share their creation with the group.

Technology

St Peter’s Girls’ School deploys Parallels Desktop® for Mac Business Edition THE CHALLENGE FOR ST PETER’S GIRLS’ SCHOOL WAS TO PROVIDE A STABLE PLATFORM THAT ENABLES MAC OS AND WINDOWS ENVIRONMENTS TO CO-EXIST, PROVIDING TEACHERS THE OPTION TO SWITCH BETWEEN OPERATING SYSTEMS SEAMLESSLY AS NEEDED.

St Peter’s Collegiate Girls’ School is an independent school based in South Australia. It offers South Australian Certificate of Education (SACE) as well as being an authorised International Baccalaureate (IB) World School teaching both the Junior School and the Diploma Program in Years 11 and 12. BUSINESS CHALLENGE St Peter’s Girls’ School is one of Australia’s most innovative girls’ schools, acclaimed for its academic excellence, caring atmosphere and strong community spirit. The school provides the highest quality education from Pre-School to Year 12 in a stimulating, caring and supportive environment. Known for providing quality education, the school also maximizes each student’s learning potential by leveraging on IT as a teaching tool. In recent years, the use of Macs at St Peter’s Girls’ School has increasingly proved effective, both as a teaching and learning tool. “The school’s growing Mac user base, the increasing frequency of use by staff, and the inevitable need to support Windowsbased business critical applications had likewise increased management issues, causing tremendous strains on the school’s IT department,” St Peter’s Girls’ School Information and Communication Technology Manager, Nicolas Cronis, said. “We needed a cost effective, easy-to-use solution to manage the school’s current stable of 100 staff machines running both Windows PC

environment and Mac OS X® platform, without disrupting operations or draining resources. Also, as the school is expecting additional computers in 2015, scalability was also a critical requirement for us.” The challenge for IT was to provide a stable platform that enables Mac OS and Windows environments to co-exist, providing teachers the option to switch between operating systems seamlessly as needed, enabling them to be as effective as they can be in doing their jobs – without being restrained by operating system and computing environment issues. SOLUTION After careful evaluation of a number of similar solutions, St Peter’s Girls’ School chose to deploy Parallels Desktop® for Mac Business Edition, which allows teachers to run Windows and Mac applications seamlessly side by side without rebooting, thereby enabling them to provide a richer teaching and learning environment. A proven solution of choice for many of the world’s top educational institutions that have adopted a multi-platform approach, the Parallels solution also met the school’s other critical requirements, such as the scalability and stability of the platform. “Parallels Desktop for Mac Business Edition is the ideal solution for educational institutions looking to adopt a multi-platform approach to teaching and learning,” Cronis said. “A stable, easy to manage platform that gives teachers the flexibility to run and switch between their

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Windows and Mac programs as needed without re-booting, it is an enabling tool for teachers that help increase their productivity and effectiveness in their ability to perform their jobs.” RESULTS Parallels Desktop for Mac Business Edition enables teachers at St Peter’s Girls’ School to run both Windows and Mac OS X applications seamlessly without the need for IT intervention. “With Parallels Desktop for Mac Business Edition, teachers at St Peter’s Girls’ School have never been more flexible in creating teaching aids that make teaching more fun, interesting, and effective,” Cronis said. “In addition to its reliable performance, the solution is easy to use, allowing files to be dragged and dropped across different operating systems.” Parallels is delivering solutions that are facilitating a richer, more diverse teaching and learning experience for teachers and students, respectively. Parallels Desktop for Mac Business Edition features security management that allow the school’s IT administrators to have full control over device access by assigning specific rights to teachers. It also lets IT centrally configure and control what teachers can have on their Mac or desktop PC. Following the introduction of Parallels Desktop for Mac Business Edition for teachers, St Peter’s Girls’ School is looking forward, hoping to extend the same deployment for its growing number of student Mac users, who also require access to Windows-based productivity applications.

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Health and Wellbeing

Working with wellbeing A WHOLE-SCHOOL APPROACH TO WELLBEING IS ABOUT CREATING A SAFE AND SUPPORTIVE ENVIRONMENT IN SCHOOLS, ONE THAT ENHANCES ALL DIMENSIONS OF HEALTH AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF STUDENTS, WRITES NICKY SLOSS.

It is often obvious when our students are not doing so well – we see this through their facial expressions, posture and energy levels, the things they say and don’t say. How does it look, sound and feel when our young people are flourishing in all aspects of their lives and how do teachers help them along that path to wellbeing?

Nicky Sloss is a passionate educator working as the Student Wellbeing Consultant at the Association of Independent Schools NSW. A teacher for 25 years in both Government and Independent Schools, she is currently completing her Graduate Diploma in Counselling. Nicky won an Australian Government Quality Teacher Program Grant and Positive Schools teacher nomination in 2013 and is a member of the NSW Wellbeing Australia advisory group. Nicky can be contacted at nsloss@aisnsw.edu.au The Association of Independent Schools of NSW (AISNSW) is a significant provider of professional learning programs for more than 460 independent schools in NSW, and its programs are also able to be accessed by teachers from other schools sectors and states and territories. AISNSW delivers hundreds of programs and customised consultancies to schools focusing on the curriculum and pedagogy, as well as conferences, online learning programs and webinars.

WHAT IS WELLBEING? For over 70 years, the World Health Organisation has defined health as ‘a state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity’ (Who.int, 2015). It is a definition that acknowledges how multifaceted the nature of wellbeing is. Dodge et.al. (2012) states that wellbeing is the ‘balance point between an individual’s resource pool and the challenges

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faced.’ In other words people can only thrive when they have the resources to address the adversities they face. In relation to education, the Australian Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR) survey provided the following definition for student wellbeing, ‘a sustainable state of positive mood and attitude, resilience and satisfaction with self, relationships and experiences at school’ (Australian Catholic University, 2008). In order to complete duties and be effective educators within the school community, teachers and those working with young people in schools need to have a diverse set of skills and characteristics. On top of good pedagogy, an expanding curriculum and a knowledge of mandatory school policies and procedures,

“Understanding the wellbeing of students and developing strong connections and a sense of belonging might seem an extra demand on educators, however evidence suggests it is critical.” teachers need high levels of energy, a capacity to recognise they do not have all the answers and a willingness to seek the support of others when required. Understanding the wellbeing of students and developing strong connections and a sense of belonging might seem an extra demand on educators, however evidence suggests it is critical. It this focus on wellbeing that underpins the effective education of the whole child, and every child – ‘Everybody is a teacher of wellbeing’ (MindMatters). In my role as AISNSW [Association of Independent Schools NSW] Student Wellbeing Consultant, I get to talk with many teachers across New South Wales in relation to their work with students in school settings. I find it encouraging, comforting and not at all surprising that many classroom teachers, school administration and support staff have high levels of awareness concerning student wellbeing. The idea that wellbeing affects learning is not a new one and there is a plethora of evidence to inform and assist educators and staff supporting students in schools to support this. Educators and staff working with young people are eager to learn strategies to enhance their relationships with students to improve wellbeing and academic outcomes. Martin and Dawson (2009) suggest that, ‘a focus on relationships throughout the school has a positive ripple effect impacting on not only wellbeing, but also the motivation and performance of both students and their teachers.’ As one of my colleagues and I regularly say, teachers

teach students as well as subjects. Teachers require professional learning and resources to assist them in relation to student wellbeing. A recent survey of Australian principals and teachers conducted by the Australian not-forprofit organisation beyondblue found that almost all believed that student wellbeing and mental health was equally as important as school curriculum. Two thirds of those surveyed would like more professional learning and resources in this area (beyondblue 2015). Educators acknowledged their responsibility in creating a supportive environment in the classroom and to address the wellbeing of the young people in their care but do not always know the best way to deliver that support. WHAT MIGHT WELLBEING LOOK LIKE IN SCHOOLS? Both KidsMatter (primary) and MindMatters (secondary) are two reputable and evidence-based frameworks created in collaboration with beyondblue, the Australian Psychologists Association and Principal’s Australia Institute. Their whole-school approach is not only key, it is essential. The Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians (2008) clearly identified schools as having a pivotal role in the wellbeing of young Australians working in partnership with the broader community. The wellbeing of students is a key foundation for success. A whole-school approach to wellbeing involves everyone in the school as well as the community – ensuring that a sense of connectedness and belonging

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is provided for young people (KidsMatter). A wholeschool approach is about creating a safe and supportive environment in schools, one that enhances all dimensions of health and the development of students. Huppert (2011) suggests that schools are a key component in terms of moving students and staff from languishing to flourishing. There will always be those students whose mental health requires a high-level response in our schools, however the focus is now increasingly aimed at universal prevention intervention. These interventions stretch beyond one or two lessons and may extend to an informal and formal wellbeing ‘curriculum’ in schools. CHALLENGES AND SOLUTIONS Access to resources, planning time, structures and budget can all be seen as challenges in schools however none of these are unsurmountable. In Australia, we are fortunate to have access to a wide range of resources and professional learning networks across the country and globe. Teachers and schools can access a range of resources all free of charge including though not limited to: • Australian Communications and Media Authority • Black Dog Institute • Bravehearts • beyondblue • Bereavement Care Centre • Bullying No Way • Curve Lurve • CyberSmart • Edutopia • Five Ways to Wellbeing • Greater Good Science Centre • headspace • KidsMatter • MindMatters

Health and Wellbeing

• National Centre Against Bullying • NSW Cancer Council • Peer Support Australia • Orygen Youth Health • ReachOut.com/Professionals • Safe Schools Hub • Stay Smart online • Syd Uni Brain and Mind • The Butterfly Foundation • The Smiling Mind • Transport for NSW • Wellbeing Australia • Young and Well Cooperative Research Centre Youth • beyondblue A number of these organisations and resources also provide professional learning for teachers. Not to be underestimated, Twitter is also an outstanding professional learning network and place to source ideas and resources for wellbeing in schools. Each term in the AISNSW Student Wellbeing News, the plethora of evidence-based resources, articles, apps and fresh evidence-based ideas and opportunities is showcased. Teachers can access this newsletter as professional learning to utilise in their work with both students and the parent community, who are a vital part of the wellbeing puzzle. Experts and researchers, as well as police liaison officers and advocacy groups, can also be a useful addition to wellbeing programs provided they are scaffolded by appropriate sessions with Personal Development, Health and Physical Education (PDHPE) or wellbeing staff. Purposefully scheduling visitors when KLA curriculum would benefit from their support can also be appropriate. Adequately resourcing teaching staff and providing professional learning in relation to student wellbeing topics will build their capacity and ensure messages are well-received and sustained by the school community.

IN SUMMARY • Schools are vital in relation to student wellbeing. • Student wellbeing is necessary for effective learning, pro-social behaviour and resilience. • Informal conversations, development of relationships and connections play an important role in the development of student wellbeing. • Professional learning is essential to build teacher capacity in relation to student wellbeing. • Teachers require an understanding of current

evidence-based research regarding the contemporary issues concerning the health and wellbeing of young people. • Both proactive and reactive approaches are required when working with young people in schools. • There are a plethora of evidence-based resources related to student wellbeing. Wellbeing is definitely on the agenda in our schools.

AISNSW STUDENT WELLBEING PROFESSIONAL LEARNING AISNSW Student Wellbeing News is a newsletter sent to teachers who register their interest each term. We invite teachers to engage with this source of information as an exciting means of professional discourse. Select ‘student wellbeing’ as an area of interest on your AIS profile and you will be included on the distribution list. More details are on the AISNSW Student Wellbeing Page https://www.aisnsw.edu.au/ Services/PL/SW/pages/default.aspx AIS Student Wellbeing Conference 2015 – Walking the Talk about Wellbeing 24 August 2015 https:// www.aisnsw.edu.au/CoursesEvents/Pages/CourseDetail.aspx?cid=906c8613-abef-46cd-ad7e3798edea0020 Wellbeing for Beginning Teachers 26 August 2015 https://www.aisnsw.edu.au/CoursesEvents/Pages/CourseDetail.aspx?cid=21453ad5b963-4f56-8b68-7b4ae99878fc What is Working Well in Wellbeing? Online Module Available from 3 November 2015 https://www.aisnsw.edu.au/CoursesEvents/Pages/ CourseDetail.aspx?cid=136b4e09-f54d-4984-b84b-16fe2e35cfd2 Building Teacher-Student Relationships 15 October 2015 https://www.aisnsw.edu.au/CoursesEvents/Pages/CourseDetail.aspx?cid=c85738a4-a1c2-462a-bd113926d22b1d93 Strategies for Leading Wellbeing Teams 21 October 2015 https://www.aisnsw.edu.au/CoursesEvents/Pages/CourseDetail.aspx?cid=2ad7ed2e-23f8-4cd7-badfeb8cc0e0440b Best Practice in Education – A Drug and Alcohol Focus with Paul Dillon 9-10 November 2015 https://www.aisnsw.edu.au/CoursesEvents/Pages/CourseDetail.aspx?cid=0cbf4613-bfdf-4f5a-a36f008787b22393

References Australian Catholic University and Erebus International (2008) Scoping Study into approaches to student wellbeing: Literature review. Report to the Department of Education, Employment and Work Relations: Canberra beyondblue (2015). Media Release, 4th May. beyondblue launches new MindMatters initiative to improve mental health in Australian Secondary Schools. Available at: https://www.beyondblue.org.au/ about-us/news/news/2015/05/03/i-beyondblue-i-launches-new-mindmatters-initiative-to-improve-mental-health-in-australian-secondary-schools [Accessed 21 Jul. 2015]. Centre for Education Statistics and Evaluation (2015). Student Wellbeing: Literature Review. Report to NSW Department of Education and. Communities. Dodge, R., Daly, A., Huyton, J., @ Sanders, L. (2012). The challenge of defining wellbeing. International Journal of Wellbeing, 2 (3), 222-235. KidsMatter Martin, A.J., & Dawson, M. (2009). Interpersonal relationships, motivation, engagement, and achievement: Yields for theory, current issues, and educational practice. Review of Educational Research, 79 (1), 327-365. Huppert, F.A. (2011). Flourishing Across Europe: Application of a New Conceptual Framework for Defining Well-being. Well-Being Institute & Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge. MindMatters Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs (2008). Melbourne Declaration on Education Goals for Young Australians. Principals Australia Institute Roffey, S. (2012). Positive Relationships: Evidence Based Practice across the World. Springer Science + Business Media. Who.int, (2015). WHO Definition of Health. [online] Available at: http://www.who.int/about/definition/en/print.html [Accessed 21 Jul. 2015].

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for everyone

Health & Wellbeing

Top 10 tips for a smooth flight when travelling with a baby TO AVOID SPENDING LONG, DISAGREEABLE HOURS IN THE AIR WE HAVE SOME SIMPLE ADVICE THAT BEGINS EVEN BEFORE YOU ARRIVE AT THE AIRPORT.

There is nothing worse for a parent then the thought of travelling on an airline with an infant less than two years of age or even being a passenger waiting in the departure lounge cringing at the thought that child any minute could dissolve in a torrent of loud tears. To avoid spending long, disagreeable hours in the air we have some simple advice that begins even before you arrive at the airport. THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE LEAVING A baby can make a short flight as early as one week of age, and at 3-4 weeks, it can make a medium or long distance flight. It’s important that parents be sure their infant does not have a cold. If the child does have a cold, it is strongly advised not to fly. PARENT RECOMMENDATIONS BEFORE TAKE-OFF 1. All children travelling overseas, including newborns, need a passport. Make sure all your family’s passports have at least six months validity from your planned date of return to Australia. Keep a photocopy of your documentation separate from the originals and leave copies at home with someone you can easily contact in case of an emergency. 2. When you reserve your airline ticket, be sure to mention that you will be traveling with your baby. Certain airlines attribute specific seats to parents who are traveling with very young children. ON THE PLANE 3. To limit the effects of a change in cabin pressure when taking off and landing, we recommend ensuring your baby has something to drink, preferably something they usually drink. The act of swallowing will help alleviate ear pressure. Also, as these particular moments in the plane can be stressful, it’s advisable to let your baby suck on a pacifier.

4. I n addition to your traditional carry-on luggage, you’re allowed to take your baby’s nappy bag with you into the cabin. Powdered milk formula is also authorised but you’ll have to ask the flight crew to provide you with spring water heated to the right temperature to prepare your baby bottles. You may also take baby food and any medications that your infant may need during the flight. 5. H ave on hand everything you may need in terms of extra clothing, nappies and baby wipes – opt for wipes instead of cleansing lotions, which have to meet air safety standards: they cannot be over 100ml, and must be placed in transparent plastic bags and presented when you go through security. 6. B lankets provided by the airlines are not sufficient for your little one. Parents should include warm, comfortable clothing (bring along your baby’s usual sleeping bag and a cap) because the flight might be long and the temperature is often kept quite cool inside the plane. 7. I f the flight lasts more than 2.5 hours, you’ll have to plan for an appropriate meal for your baby. 8. B e sure your baby drinks a lot during the flight. Infants become dehydrated much faster than adults due to the dry, pressurised air. 9. P arents’ biggest preoccupation during a long flight is to keep their baby occupied. This should be taken into account when you book your tickets. If possible, try to reserve a flight that coincides with your child’s naptime or even a night flight. You will be able to reserve a baby crib directly with your airline company (these cribs are for children who weigh less than 10 kg and are less than 70 cm in length). Otherwise, parents can try to recreate a cosy, familiar environment with their baby’s favourite soft toys, books and games.

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10. And here is an unexpected tip for getting your baby to sleep during the flight: taking along his car seat might help him drift off more easily because it’s familiar to him. However, be sure you have the airline’s permission in advance. This will depend on seating availability and the size of your child’s stroller or car seat. On arrival at your destination you may have concerns about your child being affected by time zone changes. Never fear though for if there is a time change when you arrive at your destination and your baby is less than 6 months old, this change should not have much effect as they are less sensitive at a younger age. However older infants can suffer more and we recommend adjusting to the local time by gradually delaying or advancing their bedtime. The tip can also be applied to meal times, which should be adjusted. You can help your child be patient by offering them a light snack, like applesauce. Nothing is preordained but following these tips are a simple and easy way to ensure travel conditions are comfortable for parents, children and fellow travellers.

Health and Wellbeing

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Workload, tipping points and sustainable work-life balance: The occupational health and safety challenges for educators AUSTRALIA HAS A SIGNIFICANT MENTAL HEALTH ISSUE, AND MANY SCHOOLS AS WORKPLACES ARE UNFORTUNATELY PART OF THE PROBLEM NOT THE SOLUTION, WRITES PHIL RILEY. The workload of Australian principals is rapidly approaching a tipping point, beyond which the job will become unsustainable. Many may feel they have already reached it. If principals’ work is becoming unsustainable then so is teachers’ work. The Australian Principal Health and Wellbeing Survey has pointed out some of the reasons why. But let’s start this discussion with some recent evidence, both good and bad, that gives some context to the issues. • Mental health threats are an educators’ most common occupational risk. • PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) calculated that the cost of not addressing mental health issues in Australian workplaces amounts to $10.9 billion annually: two Gonski’s every year!2 • As educators make up the largest professional workforce in the country they represent a significant proportion of the $10.9 billion. • Safe Work Australia reported, “The number of compensation claims for mental disorders lodged due to work-related mental stress substantially underestimates the size of the problem.”3 The reason for this is because in many industries, probably including most education settings, putting in a claim risks career suicide. So sensible people don’t do it. They may be suffering but they are not stupid. • PwC found workers compensation claims represent just over 1% of the $10.9 billion!

• S o employers suggesting that 2-3% reductions in successful workers compensation claims against education employers are evidence that things are improving is misinformed. It is a distraction from the very real issues facing educators. • F ar more troubling evidence than the relatively static workers compensation claims comes from the Teachers Health Fund, the industry health insurer. In November, 2014, the CEO, Brad Joyce, reported “the need for mental health services from members almost doubled over the past five years.”5 The evidence of problems is clear. Australia has a significant mental health issue, and many schools, as workplaces are unfortunately part of the problem not the solution. On all dimensions of health and wellbeing principals score significantly lower than the general population on all positive dimensions and significantly higher on all negative dimensions. While there is no data yet on Australian teachers’ scores on the same dimensions, similar studies conducted suggest that there is no reason to suggest they would score much differently from principals. You would probably like some good news now. Well there is some. PwC found that every “dollar spent on effective workplace mental health actions may generate $2.30 in benefits the organisation”1. So addressing the issues is a no-brainer. Doing so will free up significant levels of funding that could

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Philip Riley, PhD, Associate Professor of Educational Leadership Principal Researcher, Principal Health and Wellbeing Survey Institute for Positive Psychology and Education, ACU Philip.riley@principalhealth.org Philip.riley@acu.edu.au Phil Riley, a former school principal, spent 16 years in schools before moving the tertiary sector. He researches the overlapping space of psychology, education and leadership. Phil has produced more than 150 publications and peer reviewed conference presentations and been awarded over $6 million in research funding. In 2010 Phil was recognised by Monash University with an inaugural Monash Researcher Accelerator award, which funded the first two years of The Australian Principal Health and Wellbeing Survey. He has since won the Dean’s award for Excellence by an Early Career Researcher, and the award for Excellence in Innovation and External Collaboration, at Monash in 2011. He moved to ACU in 2014.

Health and Wellbeing

go to schools for educational purposes: a win-win scenario. But what to do? The Australian Psychological Society has been working on this and released an important report in 2013.5 The Psychologically Healthy Workplace has six basic conditions that have to be met. As you read through them see if you can judge how well your workplace setting measures up. If you see shortfalls, what might be done to address them successfully? SUPPORTIVE LEADERSHIP • P erceived organisational support. The key word here is “perceived”. When employees perceive they are supported positive benefit for all follows. If they don’t perceive it, there are two potential issues: a) There may not be adequate support, or b) There may not be adequate communication about the support that is being provided but not being perceived. •S upervisory support is concrete and specific. It shows the employee that their work is noticed, and valued by the organisation leaders. Relational and technical support provide employees with the feeling of security that enables them to back their own judgement knowing they have a place to retreat to if they overstretch. •S upportive leadership that is neither over-directive or laissez-faire. This is tricky in a school situation as all educators are all leaders of students, perhaps also teaching teams as well as followers in the organisation. So how they are treated is likely to be how they treat others. Everyone has a more senior person to report to, including the principal. • Emotional intelligence. Made popular by Dan Goleman6 20 years ago, this goes directly to reading others and “walking in their shoes”. When leaders are trying to understand both the impact of their leadership and “how the troops are travelling” benefit for all ensues. • E mpathy, relates to emotional intelligence. Leaders need both to really be effective. When they are employees are more able to roll with the punches of a demanding job such as teaching • Role-modelling, is what educators do all the time. • Delegation. In psychologically health workplaces delegation is a structured way to help the organisation function, not just giving people you don’t like, jobs you would rather not do. In unhealthy work environments, delegation often comes with either criticism of the task, or lack of support/ resources to complete the task successfully.

“…every dollar spent on effective workplace mental health actions may generate $2.30 in benefits the organisation.”

• P roactive management of at-risk staff (for teachers read at-risk students). Basically everyone is watching how you handle those difficult relationships: watching to see if the actors’ dignity remains and that decisions are based on careful judgements made in everyone’s best interests. EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT • The extent to which you feel involved in your job, have a say in what should happen, and some control over what actually happens. • Much of employee engagement rests on the alignment between personal and organisational views and values. Increasing accountability and prescription in education has produced a values tension for many veteran teachers who began their careers under very different value systems to now. The result has been increased attrition from teaching in the USA7 as veteran teachers disengage from the work. As we follow the same trends in Australia it is safe to guess that similar issues are arising here too. ROLE CLARITY • Understand work objectives, and their links to individual and organisational objectives. • Clear guidance about expected roles and how these translate to actual behaviours associated with the job. For example, does everyone in your work setting know how the goals of the organisation translate into daily action, or are they supposed to work that out for themselves? LEARNING, DEVELOPMENT AND GROWTH OPPORTUNITIES • Access to appropriate professional development, with opportunities to expand knowledge, skills and abilities and apply competencies gained.

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APPRAISAL AND RECOGNITION •A ppropriate rewards for contribution to the workplace. This does not mean performance pay. Teaching is a collaborative exercise and performance pay tends to induce competition between employees for limited resources, rather than promote collaboration toward long-term organisational goals. • Recognition of achievement of professional and personal milestones. •Q uality of performance assessment and feedback. Australia is well known in the organisational literature for not providing good feedback to employees. Our culture of “the tall poppy” means we tend to avoid rather than point out obvious success, and feel uncomfortable pointing out obvious under performance, because we don’t like to be seen as “dobbers”. So for Australian managers the easiest thing to do is provide little or no feedback, making performance reviews more of a time-wasting exercise than true provocations toward growth and identifying real opportunities to support employee growth.8 WORK-LIFE BALANCE • Acknowledgement of employee’s responsibilities and lives outside work. • P rovides help to manage these multiple demands. BENEFITS OF A PSYCHOLOGICALLY HEALTHY WORKPLACE9 A psychologically healthy workplace fosters employee health and well-being while enhancing organisational performance, thereby benefiting both employees and the organisation. Benefits to employees • Increased job satisfaction; • Higher morale; • Better physical and mental health; • Enhanced motivation; and, • Improved ability to manage stress. Benefits to the organisation • Improved quality, performance and productivity; • Reduced absenteeism, presenteeism and turnover; • Fewer accidents and injuries; • Better able to attract and retain top-quality employees; • Improved customer service and satisfaction; and, • Lower healthcare costs.

WHAT CAN INDIVIDUALS DO? School education will always be an intense job emotionally because education workers deal with parents’ most precious hopes and deepest fears, wrapped up in the futures of their children. No amount of resourcing will change that. So it is important to recognise that educators’ occupational risks are more likely psychological. In particular, the risk is burnout. The American Psychological Association has a comprehensive website that outlines the differences between stress and burnout.10 The main causes are work-related, but there are also lifestyle issues, and personality traits contribute too. You will note that many of the symptoms listed below are the opposite of the components of a psychologically healthy workplace. WORK-RELATED CAUSES OF BURNOUT • Feeling like you have little or no control over your work; • Lack of recognition or rewards for good work; • Unclear or overly demanding job expectations; • Doing work that’s monotonous or unchallenging; and, • Working in a chaotic or high-pressure environment. LIFESTYLE CAUSES OF BURNOUT • Working too much, without enough time for relaxing and socialising; • Being expected to be too many things to too many people; • Taking on too many responsibilities, without enough help from others; • Not getting enough sleep; and, • Lack of close, supportive relationships.

The signs and symptoms of burnout fall into three categories. They are a good checklist to use for yourself and your colleagues. It is important to remember that burnout is the number one occupational risk for educators and should not be seen as a failure if it happens. It is common. It is also good to remember that burnout is a gradual process. This signs are subtle at first, but get easier to recognise with time. Early detection means it is easier to deal with because the symptoms are less severe. PHYSICAL SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS OF BURNOUT10 • Feeling tired and drained most of the time; • Lowered immunity, feeling sick a lot; • Frequent headaches, back pain, muscle aches; and, • Change in appetite or sleep habits. EMOTIONAL SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS OF BURNOUT • Sense of failure and self-doubt; • Feeling helpless, trapped, and defeated; • Detachment, feeling alone in the world; • Loss of motivation; • Increasingly cynical and negative outlook; and, •D ecreased satisfaction and sense of accomplishment. BEHAVIORAL SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS OF BURNOUT • Withdrawing from responsibilities; • Isolating yourself from others; • Procrastinating, taking longer to get things done; • Using food, drugs, or alcohol to cope; • Taking out your frustrations on others; and, • Skipping work or coming in late and leaving early. BURNOUT PREVENTION TIPS10

PERSONALITY TRAITS CAN CONTRIBUTE TO BURNOUT • Perfectionistic tendencies; nothing is ever good enough; • Pessimistic view of yourself and the world; • The need to be in control; reluctance to delegate to others; and, • High-achieving, Type A personality.

•S tart the day with a relaxing ritual. Rather than jumping out of bed as soon as you wake up, spend at least 15 minutes meditating, writing in your journal, doing gentle stretches, or reading something that inspires you. •A dopt healthy eating, exercising, and sleeping habits. When you eat right, engage in regular

The Australian Principal Health and Wellbeing Survey is open from July 20 to October 4, 2015. Please visit www.principalhealth.org to take the survey. Your participation is vital! physical activity, and get plenty of rest, you have the energy and resilience to deal with life’s hassles and demands. •S et boundaries. Don’t overextend yourself. Learn how to say “no” to requests on your time. If you find this difficult, remind yourself that saying “no” allows you to say “yes” to the things that you truly want to do. • T ake a daily break from technology. Set a time each day when you completely disconnect. Put away your laptop, turn off your phone, and stop checking email. •N ourish your creative side. Creativity is a powerful antidote to burnout. Try something new, start a fun project, or resume a favorite hobby. Choose activities that have nothing to do with work. • L earn how to manage stress. When you’re on the road to burnout, you may feel helpless. But you have a lot more control over stress than you may think. Learning how to manage stress can help you regain your balance. If we do not change what we do from day to day we should not achieve different occupational health outcomes. This means changing work habits: (re) evaluating work practices, keeping the important ones, but letting go of the unimportant. “The chains of habit are too light to be felt until they are too heavy to be broken.”11 It is time for all educators to act individually and collectively to change work practices that contribute to burnout. By looking after their own health, they will also be looking after the profession. The children of Australia will be the beneficiaries.

References 1. www.principalhealth.org 2. PricewaterhouseCoopers Australia. http://www.headsup.org.au/creating-a-mentally-healthy-workplace/the-business-case 3. http://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/sites/SWA/about/Publications/Documents/769/The-Incidence-Accepted-WC-Claims-Mental-Stress-Australia.docx 4. Teachers Health Fund CEO Brad Joyce (Nov, 2014) 5. http://www.psychology.org.au/inpsych/2014/december/phwp/ 6. Goleman, D. (1995). Emotional intelligence. New York: Bantam Books, Inc. 7. Noddings, N. (2007). When school reform goes wrong. New York: Teachers College Press. 8. Henry, A. (2005). Leadership revelations – An Australian perspective: Reflections from outstanding leaders. North Ryde: CCH Australia 9. http://www.apaexcellence.org/resources/creatingahealthyworkplace/benefits/ 10. http://www.helpguide.org/articles/stress/preventing-burnout.htm 11. Warren Buffet distilled the words of Samuel Johnson to come up with this quote. http://quoteinvestigator.com/2013/07/13/chains-of-habit/

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ARNHEM LAND

DARWIN KAKADU

TOP END

KATHERINE

Come on an adventure to the Northern Territory to discover, understand and learn new skills that will stay with you and your students for a lifetime. An excursion to the Top End will educate your students on the contribution and impact that our ‘Top Enders’ had on Australian history. Our immersive Aboriginal culture, multicultural past and present as well as our natural ‘theme parks’ of Kakadu, Litchfield and Nitmiluk national park, will be remembered for many years to come as the best school excursion ever!

12 Day NT excursion from $1399 p/student

TENNANT

CREEK

ALICE

SPRINGS ULURU

WIN$1000 GRANT TOWARDS YOUR SCHOOL EXCURSION TO THE NT

Highlights: Royal Flying Doctors service, School of the Air, Nitmiluk Gorge Cruise, Mataranka Thermal Springs, Kakadu National Park, Yellow Waters Cruise, Darwin museum and Fanny Bay Gaol Includes: • Seatbelt/DVD equipped coach with driver and cook • Airfare from Darwin to Melbourne including transfer back to school • All camping fees • Camping equipment including tent and sleeping mattress • Meals (as per itinerary) • Entry to attractions as per itinerary • Entry to Kakadu and Uluru-Kata Tjuta National park free on application*

Be creative with your application and tell us how a trip to the NT enhances the educational outcomes of your school.

Valid from 1 July 2015 to 30 June 2016. Visit the website for full terms and conditions.

Indigenous component options: 4 hour Indigenous Immersion program at the Lilla Community (Watarrka). Footsteps of our Ancestors at Maud Creek (Nitmiluk).

Prices based on 44 students with up to 4 staff complimentary. Optional component prices available on request. For all itineraries, terms and conditions see www.trekset.com.au or call 03 8325 0000. *Schools must apply direct to Kakadu and Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park for free entry.

School Camps and Excursions

‘Top End’ tour like never before IN 2015, TOURISM NT AND NINE INTERSTATE TEACHERS WILL EMBARK ON ANOTHER EDUCATORS’ FAMIL, BUT THIS TIME IN THE ‘TOP END’ OF THE NORTHERN TERRITORY.

Believing that a hands-on experience is the best learning tool, the Northern Territory government’s tourism body, Tourism NT, has worked uniquely with the state’s tourism operators, schools and universities to create ‘NT Learning Adventures’ that offers school excursions aligned with the Australian curriculum. The unique partnership offers both students and teachers the opportunity to cover key learning areas, general capabilities and cross-curriculum priorities in an adventurous and exciting way in a truly captivating part of Australia. In 2014 a group of Australian teachers were given the opportunity to experience their own learning adventure in the Northern Territory. Incorporating experiences such as a night with the stars at the Earth Sanctuary, Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park and sunset camel tours, they walked away with a greater sense of understanding and appreciation for our great southern land, along with everlasting memories. Wendy Kincses, a science teacher from Victoria’s Flinders Christian Community College, said along with the memories there will be many opportunities to enrich her curriculum from her Central Australian experiences. “Much of the information given was probably more relevant to the History or Indigenous Studies curriculum, but I can see many links to science, my curriculum area,” she said. “Some of the best teaching happens when we get off track and ‘hook’ students with interesting titbits of information; I have a wealth of experiences from this trip to share with students. I hope that I can fascinate and inspire them to travel to Central Australia. I would like to encourage students to travel to the NT for their

education matters secondary

School Camps and Excursions

“Our rangers and traditional owners share a wealth of knowledge in a way which helps students and teachers see this living cultural landscape through new eyes and develop a curiosity and respect that remains with them long after they return home.” gap year and experience a different culture.” Northcote High School teacher Natalie Wood echoed these sentiments and said schools should place more emphasis on Australian explorations rather than international trips, as she came to the realisation that our own backyard is rich with history and culture. Natalie was successful producing a proposal to offer a school trip to the NT in place of a Gold Coast or international trip. “With everything we participate in on a school level, we need to be able to articulate the impact on the student learning experience and what NT Learning Adventures has achieved is having the tourism operators directly inform the schools of the outcomes and clearly identify the educational purposes behind a tour to the NT,” she said. “In addition, this highlighted to me in a positive manner the partnership between tourism and education, I was thoroughly impressed

with the background work that had commenced prior to showcasing to teachers the value in a Northern Territory tour.” In 2015 Tourism NT and nine interstate teachers are embarking on another educators famil, but this time in the ‘Top End’ of the Northern Territory. The teachers, hailing from Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania, will discover a myriad of educational activities ranging from joining a cultural cruise in Kakadu, participating in an immersion program in Katherine as well as visiting the Military Museum in Darwin. “I’m really looking forward to the 2015 Educators famil in the Top End,” Tourism NT’s Becky said. “We have nine amazing teachers all eager to learn more about the NT. I’m excited to show them how our tour operators have recognised the requirements of a school excursion, and align their product with curriculum. “After five full days of travelling over 1200 km, the teachers will most likely be rather exhausted by the end of it – but it will definitely be worth it!” Lia, from Kakadu National Park, said the famil is a great opportunity for the park to showcase, direct to the teachers, its exclusive educational experiences that have been specifically designed for school groups. “Our rangers and traditional owners share a wealth of knowledge in a way which helps students and teachers see this living cultural landscape through new eyes and develop a curiosity and respect that remains with them long after they return home,” Lia said. Nitmiluk Tours’ Cultural Tours Manager, Jane

education matters secondary

Runyu-Fordimail, said the sharing and teaching of indigenous culture is important to indigenous people as it helps them identify themselves and where they belong. “Our stories and history are not written, but handed down from generation to generation,” she said. “So you can see why it is important to us that we continue to educate others about our way of life and keep our culture alive for our future generations. We look forward to welcoming teachers and students to experience our culture first hand and learn the traditions of the Jawoyn People.” TEASER HIGHLIGHTS OF THE 2015 TOP END EDUCATORS’ FAMIL! • 19 February 1942 was a day in history not well known throughout the rest of Australia, but you will visit the forefront; • Learn about the science surrounding one of the oldest living reptiles; • Explore the Territory night sky and learn how the stars are not just about science but also have importance throughout history; • Witness the remarkable landscape of the Top End throughout three National Parks; • Enjoy the wildlife via road and water, and learn about the traditional culture of this area; • Produce a piece of art and maybe meet some friendly wildlife; • Immerse into Jawoyn culture and enjoy an ‘outback dinner’ under the stars; • Fish and chips like you’ve never had them before!

Maruku@Uluru

Darwin FreeSpirit Resort

Nitmiluk Tours

Maruku@Uluru offer students hands on workshops with traditional Aboriginal artists and the opportunity to create their own art work. We explore the culture of the desert as well as the meaning of the various icons of the region including the animals, the landscape and a background to the stories of Uluru and Kata Tjuta. Sessions can run either at Uluru or in Yulara. Students can allow creativity to take hold when they produce an art piece that holds great meaning to them through patterns and shapes they have learnt from their Aboriginal artist, along with their own experiences from their excursion.

Only 17kms from Darwin city, we offer a range of accommodation options to suit travelling school groups. Resort facilities include; Elements Café (meal packages can be arranged), 3 Swimming pools, Jumping Cushion, Entertainment programs, BBQ areas and much more – it’s the ideal destination for your school’s Top End adventure! Please mention this ad when you call.

Nitmiluk Tours presents the ‘Footsteps of Our Ancestors’ immersion program based at Nitmiluk Gorge just outside of Katherine. Specifically designed for school groups in mind, this program encompasses the lifestyle, culture and traditions of the Jawoyn people by providing hands-on learning experiences for a range of group sizes and ages. The program can be catered to suit educational outcomes along with accommodation and catering packages if required.

08 8935 0888 Darwinfreespiritresort.com.au Crocodylus Park

08 8971 0877 nitmiluktours.com.au Kakadu Cultural Tours

0499 829 635 maruku.com.au Austour

Let Austour bring your school excursion to life. Allow us to present new generation product for outback fun and learning. It’s what we have loved doing for many years and the Northern Territory is the perfect location for students to learn about and participate in Indigenous studies, the environment, landscapes, walking the Larapinta Trail, visiting communities and much, much more. Visit our website and see how we combine many new initiatives to make your itinerary meaningful, exciting and a true Austour Northern Territory Learning Adventure.

Crocodylus Park has added an eco-boat cruise to their impressive attraction. The 45 minute cruise will take you around a constructed river system to view large crocodiles in their natural habitat. Your experienced guide will provide your students with an insight into the biology and ecology of these impressive animals, insights into other wildlife inhabiting the area, as well as learning about the native vegetation and its traditional uses. Crocodylus Park is a perfect attraction for school groups to visit, with multiple learning outcomes of the Australian curriculum covered. Crocodylus Park is located just five minutes from Darwin Airport and has its own bus stop, making it a must see in your Top End Adventure.

1800 335 009 austour.com.au

08 8922 4500 crocodyluspark.com.au

Kakadu Cultural Tours (KCT) is owned and operated by the Traditional Owners of northern Kakadu and parts of Western Arnhem Land. For this reason KCT can offer some of the best nature and indigenous learning opportunities in Kakadu and Arnhem Land in exclusive locations. KCT prides itself on educating visitors in the history of the land as well as focussing on the values of life through an indigenous perspective. School groups will be able to explore life from a different angle, and learn about bush skills, hunting, food gathering, bush tucker preparation and perhaps learn about some of the contemporary issues facing Aboriginal society. 1800525238 www.kakaduculturaltours.com.au

School Camps and Excursions

Kinesthetic Learning With exams creeping up, this month get your students away from their desks and explore a different avenue of learning. iFLY Indoor Skydiving’s School Education Programme integrates the thrill of indoor skydiving with education, allowing kids to explore subjects such as science and mathematics in a recreational way. The classroom can sometimes get stale and kinaesthetic learning often spices up monotonous classroom routine. iFLY’s programme inspires students to expand on the way they view science and maths, which can be a beneficial way to help remember more complex things for exams and revision. But it’s not all about the absorption of facts, they get to learn how to fly in the process! Don’t hesitate to book at either the Penrith or Gold Coast (opening soon) facilities and have access to flying and safety training, invaluable educational knowledge, a fun group photo for memories and most importantly flying time with our highly trained and certified instructors! Connect what your students learn in class to real life experiences this month at iFLY. Visit ifly.com.au for more information.

FLYING EDUCATION PROGRAMME When the experiment is you FLYING, maths and science suddenly get a lot more exciting.

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School Camps and Excursions

Higer, the obvious choice for school contracts HIGER BUSES HAVE BEEN IN THE AUSTRALIAN MARKET SINCE 2008, AND CAN NOW BE SEEN SERVING SCHOOLS ACROSS THE COUNTRY, FROM THE MOST PRESTIGIOUS SCHOOLS IN SYDNEY AND MELBOURNE, TO SMALLER SCHOOLS IN REGIONAL CENTRES.

For a bus operator, there is no cargo more precious than a group of school children, so when Norwest Coaches was allocating buses for its private school run, they selected their largest and most luxurious vehicle, the Higer H9250 Midi Boss. Norwest Coaches is a charter business in the north-west of Sydney, primarily operating club and pub courtesy runs and specialised school runs. Fleet Manager Steve Trlin says the company bought its first Higer about eight months ago and it is used

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for transporting students to two different schools in Sydney’s Hills District. “We know that parents want their children to get to and from school in safety and comfort, and we felt the Higer could offer both,” he said. “The bus uses very well regarded component brands, so we knew it was going to be reliable, and the quality of the finishes is very high.” The Midi Boss is powered by a Cummins ISB e5 6.7 litre power plant, which is mated to an Allison

“The Higer Midi Boss is used on our Hills Grammar and William Clark school runs,” Trlin said. “There are children on this route travelling more than 30 kilometres per day, so it’s essential we can transport them not only in comfort, but on a bus that is extremely reliable and very safe.”

automatic transmission for easy-starting and efficient operation. The model also features Wabco ABS disc brakes and Firestone airbag suspension, and like all Higer buses, the 41 seat Midi Boss is equipped with seatbelts. “The Higer Midi Boss is used on our Hills Grammar and William Clark school runs,” Trlin said. “There are children on this route travelling more than 30 kilometres per day, so it’s essential we can transport them not only in comfort, but on a bus that is extremely reliable and very safe. “One of our requirements when choosing a new bus is that the brand be well-supported in Australia with ready access to parts and servicing. Higer really fits the

bill on that front. We need the Midi Boss to be available for the school runs, so the Cummins workshop were able to service the bus at 6pm on a Friday. This kind of flexibility really makes a difference to us, allowing us to keep the bus on the road and generating revenue when we need it to.” According to Trlin, the Higer Midi Boss was very well received by Norwest Coaches’ young passengers. “They really have been overwhelmed by the quality and luxury of the coach that takes them to school every day.”

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‘TWO FOR THREE’ OFFERS VALE FOR MONEY Passenger safety has always been a priority of the Higer brand – Higer has the way in Australia in providing lap-sash seatbelts across its range. Higer now also offers “2 for 3” seating, which allows two adults, or three primary school students to share a seat, all with the safety of lap-sash seatbelts. CEO of WMC Group, importer of Higer buses to Australia, Neil Bamford says that the “2 for 3” seating gives a new level of flexibility to the Higer range. “We understand that schools need to get the most out of their buses, and 2-3 seating allows schools to safely carry up 35 students in our popular H7170 Munro. “Adding the extra capacity without adding significantly to the cost takes the already competitive H7170 Munro to another level in terms of value for money,” he added. “The seats are ADR approved, factory-fitted, and are now available as an option for all buses in the Higer range.” Higer buses are sold and serviced from dealers across Australia, and can be seen at www.higer.com.au

At Woods, we believe that education is of the utmost importance – not just for the children of today but for our world tomorrow. This belief has driven our team, for over half a century, to study how children learn – from a behavioral, ergonomic and cognitive perspective – to develop furniture that is flexible, adaptable and stimulating. It’s this philosophy that inspired our ergo-dynamic PantoFlex chair. Designed by one of the world’s greatest furniture designers, Verner Panton, the PantoFlex chair promotes correct posture, improves blood and oxygen circulation, assists the developing musculo-skeletal system and most importantly contributes to an increased attention span. And that’s only half the story. To find out more about our innovative range of educational furniture visit woodsfurniture.com.au or call 1800 004 555. We’re for flexible learning

We have the infrastructure and resources to help your school improve the effectiveness of your communication in all its varied forms; print, digital, stationery, signage, merchandise, etc. We understand your business, and we have the capacity to provide what you need to communicate with your students, families and community.

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For further information please contact Chelsea Daniel-Young m 0425 699 878 e chelsea.daniel@primecreative.com.au

Sustainability

Students grow in kitchen gardens THE STEPHANIE ALEXANDER KITCHEN GARDEN FOUNDATION IS INVITING ALL SECONDARY SCHOOLS TO JOIN THE KITCHEN GARDEN CLASSROOM.

The not-for-profit Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation is for the first time welcoming all secondary schools into Australia’s growing kitchen garden community, with a new membership. The unique new Kitchen Garden Classroom membership service provides access to hundreds of recipes, garden activities and curriculum-linked teaching resources based on the Kitchen Garden Program, which now reaches over 800 schools and around 100,000 children across Australia. The resources draw on the Foundation’s 14 years of experience, helping educators use real-life learning in the garden and kitchen to change children’s food habits. Members will also have access to face-to-face and online training, a unique online community with over 3600 members, free webinars, email and phone support. Melbourne’s Cranbourne East Secondary College was one of the first secondary schools to join the Kitchen Garden Classroom. Food Technology teacher Laura Blackson said Cranbourne East Secondary joined the Kitchen Garden Classroom to help teachers introduce kitchen garden activities across the whole school. Laura said they were developing a garden and currently had five garden beds, which students tended.

“We want to create a space where kids can make real-life connections to where real food comes from.” “We’d like to put in fruit trees, more herbs and an outdoor learning space,” Laura said. “We want to create a space where kids can make real-life connections to where real food comes from. “We’re from a demographic that’s got a lot of fast food outlets and we want to help students make the connection that healthy food can be cheap too.” Laura said Year 10-12 students from the school’s VCAL program were currently involved in gardening and cooking the produce they had grown, and they would also like to integrate kitchen garden activities into VCE Food Technology classes, as well as the Year 8 program.

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Join the Kitchen Garden Classroom!

She said the long-term plan was for the whole school to be utilising the kitchen and garden. Kitchen Garden Foundation CEO Ange Barry said the new Kitchen Garden Classroom membership has been established to help pleasurable food education reach as many Australian children as possible, which is why it is also open to primary schools, kindergartens, preschools and childcare centres. “Forging a ground-breaking community that will change the way generations think about fresh, seasonal, delicious food – that’s our aim,” Ange said. Details: kitchengardenfoundation.org.au

‘Education should be for life. The kitchen garden classroom offers food experiences that will influence and inform children for the rest of their lives.’ Stephanie Alexander 65 www.kitchengardenfoundation.org.au

Bloomua / Shutterstock.com

In The Classroom

What is social media and how can it be useful for teachers? Meridith Ebbs is a teacher St Columba Anglican School, Port Macquarie, New South Wales. She has a blended role, teaching classes from years 2-10 and working as an eLearning integrator to support the eLearning programs and teacher professional development within the school. Meridith is a key staff member of the Professional Excellence and Innovation Centre, Port Macquarie. She develops and facilitates conferences and workshops. Meridith acts as a consultant in digital citizenship, the use of technology to enhance 21st century pedagogies and social media. Meridith is a moderator of a MOOC for Adelaide University and speaks at conferences on coding, technology and pedagogy. Meridith is interested in computational thinking, coding and the maker movement. She is working on increasing the participation of girls in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) at all levels. Meridith blogs regularly and can be followed on Twitter and Google Plus. She also curates resources on computational thinking and coding. • https://twitter.com/iMerinet • Google Plus http://bit.ly/iMerinet • inspireslearning.weebly.com • kodeklubbers.weebly.com

SOCIAL MEDIA FOR EDUCATORS IS A WORLD OF NEW IDEAS AND RESOURCES. TEACHER AND SOCIAL MEDIA GURU MERIDITH EBBS HAS COMPILED A HANDY GUIDE FOR THOSE TRYING TO NAVIGATE THEIR WAY IN THE SOCIAL MEDIA WORLD.

Social media is everywhere. You can follow the news anchor on Twitter, you ‘friend’ morning shows Sunrise or Today on Facebook and the feeds are displayed in a ticker tape along the bottom of the screen. Advertising screens follow us. Marketing and business has discovered the power of social media yet many teachers have not. Social media for educators is a world of new ideas and resources – it makes people accessible and it is possible to ‘tweet’ a person you admire and get a response. What is the fascination with Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and so on? Social media definitely has its critics but it also has its place. It is a way to connect with people you don’t see any more and with like-minded strangers. The key factor for social media being useful is balance – balancing time online, time away from family and privacy. It is important not to over share. Followers are not so interested in 50 snaps

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of your little treasures and personal friends are not interested in the events of your day-to-day work life. One way to overcome this problem is to divide your social media into two domains. An example may be to use Facebook for your private social media account and Twitter for your public but professional account. Social media is a valuable tool for teachers as it offers a way to connect with like-minded professionals and share resources and ideas. It also offers an opportunity for debate and sharing ideas that challenge and improve your professional practice. If you choose to be online, you need to check your ‘feed’ and tweet or post regularly. You need to monitor your profile as an abandoned online profile is more of a security risk to you if it is not used. People are more likely to follow and interact with an active account. Many teachers have started Twitter accounts

for their classroom. The teacher is the account owner, preferably with their school email. It is then possible to for students as young as Kindergarten to compose the tweet that is to be posted. This may include pictures of artwork or activities in the classroom. To overcome privacy issues, parents should be required to give permission to allow the use of student images. If you are still concerned, take photos of a student’s shoulder or of hands while working, this will reduce the number of faces posted online. Never post an image with a full name as this compromises student privacy. This article is about the professional development of teachers through social media and its personal use. This article does not investigate or discuss the benefits of using social media in the classroom, and the benefits of digital citizenship for students.

POPULAR EDUCATION CHATS CAN BE FOUND ON ALL KEY LEARNING AREAS (KLAS) AND AREAS OF EDUCATION:

WHAT THE TWITTER IS THAT? Twitter is a social media website. Twitter has a reputation for being used by celebrities ‘tweeting’ events and photos. Twitter is a tool that can be used by teachers to interact with other professionals, locate resources and answer questions, and it is also used for microblogging. A tweet consists of 140 characters and spaces and therefore is a quick way to share information. Due to the length of characters people often use abbreviations and shorten URLs by using tools that are discussed later in the article.

PEOPLE YOU MUST FOLLOW – JUST TO GET YOU STARTED:

PROFESSIONAL LEARNING NETWORKS (PLN) A professional learning network is sometimes referred to as a PLN. PLNs can be people you work with or know personally, offline contacts or they may be people you haven’t met and only contact virtually through a mail list or social media. A PLN may consist of current or past colleagues, acquaintances from other schools in a similar role to you, or people you have connected with online. The benefit of a PLN is it gives an extended international network of people who are willing to help and assist you. PLNs provide resources, links and ideas that can be used immediately or stored for another time.

Day

Time

Handle

Contact

Sunday

7:30 AEST

#includEDau

Sunday

8:30pm AEST

#aussieED

AussieED

Handle

@aussieEDchat Friday

9:00am AEST

#whatisschool

Craig Kemp and Laura Hill

@MrKempnz and @candylandcaper

Tuesday

2nd Tuesday each month at 8pm AEDT

#ozcschat

Phillip Cooke

@sailpip

Saturday

9-10:30 AEST

#satchatoc

Andrea Stringer

@stringer_andrea

A SLOW CHAT IS ONE THAT GOES OVER SEVERAL HOURS, DAYS OR A WEEK: Handle

Channel

Organiser

Handles

@EduTweetOz

#edutweetoz

Corinne Campbell, Cameron Malcher

@corisel, @Capitan_Typo

Name

Role

Tweets About

Handle

Meridith Ebbs (Australia)

Teacher, eLearning, Speaker

Education, pedagogy, innovative teaching practice

@iMerinet

Kim Sutton

Teacher, co-moderator #aussieED

Education

@TeachMissSutton

Nick Brierley (Australia)

Teacher, co-moderator #aussieED

Education, innovative practice

@mythisizer

Zeina Chalich (Australia)

Teacher, co-moderator #aussieED

Education, innovative practice

@zeinachalich

Eric Sheninger (USA)

Past Principal, Speaker

Leadership, management styles

@E_Sheninger

Jackie Child (Australia)

Librarian

Makerspace, library, digital literacy

@jackie_child

Ian Jukes (Canada)

Education Evangelist

Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (Australia)

@ijukes Resources for implementing curriculum

@aitsl

Teachers Education Review Podcast (Australia)

Australian podcast discussing Issues in education from the issues in education. perspective of classroom teachers.

@TERpodcast

EduTweetOZ (Australia)

New host each week

Varies depending on the hosts interests

@Edutweetoz

Super-Awesome Sylvia (USA)

Started her own YouTube channel at 8yo

Maker Movement

@MakerSylvia

Sylvia Martinez (USA)

Speaker, education evangelist Maker Movement, Education

education matters secondary

@smartinez

In The Classroom

Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus, Pinterest, Instagram, LinkedIn, Periscope, Tweet, Post, Connect, Link, Handle, Channel, Follower, Follow, Channel, Feed, Stream, Contact.

“Social media is a valuable tool for teachers as it offers a way to connect with like-minded professionals and share resources and ideas.” When attending conferences and inter-school events PLNs go offline. Meeting an online contact at a conference is an opportunity to further develop relationships that go beyond the classroom. HOW TO GET ‘FOLLOWERS’ To get followers you need to be active on Twitter and tweet regularly. Twitter teachers are very generous and will often recommend users to follow and will often follow back. To get the most out of twitter you need to: • Update your profile; • Change your profile picture from an egg (to show you didn’t just hatch); • Interact with other users; • Retweet things you like with acknowledgement; • Blog and share a link; • Tweet regularly; • Share photos and memes; • Share tips and tricks to get organised or complete a task; and, • Share a link to a useful site. If you think other users will be interested in your tweet you can add a photo and tag them. People who are tagged are likely to retweet or quote your tweet. This will in turn share your tweet with their followers.

I DON’T HAVE TIME The main reason often cited for not joining social media is, “I don’t have time”. Everyone has the same amount of time and it comes down to priorities. To fit Twitter into a busy schedule you could check your Twitter feed while: • Waiting… for transport, in a queue or for a late friend; • 10 mins at lunch break; or, • Get up 10 mins earlier. The benefit of Twitter is that you don’t have to read every item in your feed. You can skim through your feed for tweets that catch your eye by simply: • Checking the feed of your favourite tweeter; • Checking your favourite ‘hashtag’ or ‘channel’ – e.g.: #aussieED; or by, • Creating a list of favourite people. CHANNELS When tweeting, to increase the number of people who see your tweets you can add hashtags. Hashtags are sometimes referred to as channels and they are used at large events, by organisations and by groups with the same interests, online. Hashtags are also used on Twitter for ‘tweet meets’ or chats. These are events that are held at regular times on Twitter and usually go for an hour. A moderator will post a series of questions at regular intervals during the hour-long chat. The questions stimulate discussion on the topic, which leads to pictures, links, resources, stories and more questions. Some popular chats on education are listed below. There are many more lists for specialty areas in English, History, PD/H and languages. To find more chats you can ask fellow tweeters or do a Google search.

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TIPS AND TRICKS URL shorteners Twitter has a limit of 140 characters and spaces. This makes posting long URLs difficult. To overcome the character limit URL shorteners are used such as http://bit.ly/1Lpmhxm to link to websites. To create the shortened link above: • Go to bitly.com; • Paste the web address (URL) for the original site, to be shortened into the box at the top of the page; • A screen will appear on the right side of the page and click on Copy; and, • Paste the bit.ly link into your tweet. It is possible to customise the end of the link. It is also possible to download shorteners like bit.ly as apps to iPads and mobile phones. This allows you to shorten URLs while using a mobile device. Fitting it in To fit long messages into 140 characters use the following acronyms: • f2f – face to face • brb – be right back • Ts – teachers • Ss – students • Use + for and References https://support.twitter.com/articles/166337-the-twitterglossary URL shorteners: http://bit.do/list-of-url-shorteners.php http://blogs.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/maralynparker/ index.php/dailytelegraph/comments/why_teachers_love_ twitter/ http://georgecouros.ca/blog/presentation-resources/ social-media-for-administrators http://georgecouros.ca/blog/archives/1810 https://edtechdigest.wordpress.com/2012/08/31/5-waysbeing-a-connected-principal-benefits-my-students/ http://edtechteacher.org/beyond-blocking-social-mediaschools-from-patrick-larkin-beth-holland-on-edudemic/

DICTIONARY OF TWITTER TERMS FROM SUPPORT.TWITTER.COM: Term

Definition

The @ sign is used to call out usernames in tweets: “Hello @twitter!” People will use your @username to mention you in tweets, send you a message or link to your profile.

@username

A username is how you’re identified on Twitter, and is always preceded immediately by the @ symbol. For instance, Katy Perry is @katyperry.

Direct Messages (n., v.)

Direct Messages are private messages sent from one Twitter user to another Twitter users. You can use Direct Messages for one-on-one private conversations, or between groups of users.

favourite (n.)

‘Favouriting’ a tweet indicates that you liked a specific tweet. You can find all of your favourite tweets by clicking on the favourites link on your profile page.

favourite (v.)

Tap the star icon to favourite a tweet and the author will see that you liked it.

follow (v.)

Subscribing to a Twitter account is called “following.” To start following, click the Follow button next to the user name or on their profile page to see their tweets as soon as they post something new. Anyone on Twitter can follow or unfollow anyone else at any time, with the exception of blocked accounts.

follow(s) (n.)

A follow is the result of someone following your Twitter account. You can see how many follows (or followers) you have from your Twitter profile.

follower (n.)

A follower is another Twitter user who has followed you to receive your tweets in their home stream.

geolocation (n.), geotagging (v.)

Adding a location to your tweet (a geolocation or geotag) tells those who see your tweet where you were when you posted that tweet.

# hashtag (n.)

A hashtag is any word or phrase immediately preceded by the # symbol. When you click on a hashtag, you’ll see other tweets containing the same keyword or topic. Sometimes referred to as a channel.

mention (n., v.)

Mentioning other users in your tweet by including the @ sign followed directly by their username is called a “mention.” Also refers to tweets in which your @username was included.

Meme

A picture with a quote or saying on it.

Notifications, notifications (n.)

The Notifications timeline displays your interactions with other Twitter users, like mentions, favorites, retweets and who has recently followed you. If you request it, Twitter sendd notifications to you via SMS or through the Twitter for iPhone or Twitter for Android apps.

reply (n., v.)

A response to another user’s tweet that begins with the @username of the person you’re replying to is known as a reply. Reply by clicking the “reply” button next to the tweet you’d like to respond to.

Retweet (n.), RT

A tweet that you forward to your followers is known as a ‘retweet’. Often used to pass along news or other valuable discoveries on Twitter, retweets always retain original attribution.

Retweet (v.)

The act of sharing another user’s rweet to all of your followers by clicking on the retweet button.

Tweet (n.), Tweetable (adj.)

A tweet may contain photos, videos, links and up to 140 characters of text.

Tweet (v.)

The act of sending a tweet. Tweets get shown in Twitter timelines or are embedded in websites and blogs.

Twitter

An information network made up of 140-character messages (including photos, videos and links) from all over the world.

education matters secondary

Education Solutions

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education matters secondary

Jacaranda learnON is a truly immersive online course that places students at the centre of their own learning journey. It amplifies the learning of every student in every class, and equips teachers with more resources and insights than ever before. Designed specifically for Australian students by renowned Australian provider of learning solutions, Jacaranda, the online course creates a seamless and engaging learning experience. All course work, theory, case studies, questions, answers, solutions, marks and feedback are in one place and videos and interactivities are embedded within the course content.

“Jacaranda learnON ignites the potential for success in each student by encouraging independence and accountability for learning.” Shirly Griffith, Director of Publishing at Jacaranda, told Education Matters magazine the unique online course breaks down the barriers of the traditional classroom environment. For the first time, students are connected to each other and their teacher within an online course, which means important discussion and collaboration can continue beyond the walls of the classroom and doesn’t have to end when the bell rings. “It is important to develop students as engaged and life-long learners,” Griffith said. “Students need to see themselves not as passive receivers of knowledge but as active participants

in their own learning and that of others. They are a part of learning in community with others – sharing and testing ideas, receiving feedback and encouragement, collaborating and making connections. Students need to have the capacity for self-regulation, self-awareness and selfmotivation.” Jacaranda learnON provides opportunities for teachers to implement flexible pedagogies including, but not limited to, a constructivist approach, a flipped classroom approach or a more traditional approach. The performance of every student is illuminated for the teacher, as on-demand reports and continual access to all students’ activities give teachers greater visibility as to how their students are tracking and enable the early diagnoses of learning abilities to facilitate intervention and differentiation. “Teachers save time in gathering and marking student work and can instead spend time on catering for the needs of each individual in the classroom,” Griffith said. “They can respond to the changing needs of their students without having to spend copious hours redesigning their lesson plans and sourcing content. Teachers can also incorporate materials that they have developed to augment the courses provided.” Jacaranda learnON ignites the potential for success in each student by encouraging independence and accountability for learning. “Students can work at their own pace, or collectively, whilst remaining fully visible to the teacher, who can intervene as required,” Griffith said. “Students also receive instant feedback on their progress and have opportunities to experience success, while integrated media helps deepen their understanding of key concepts.” As a pioneer in digital learning, Jacaranda relentlessly seeks new ways to innovate, and

education matters secondary

“[Teachers] can respond to the changing needs of their students without having to spend copious hours redesigning their lesson plans and sourcing content. They can also incorporate materials that they have developed to augment the courses provided.” Jacaranda learnON is no exception. You can visit www.learnon.com.au/em to experience the power of this new way of teaching and learning and request a live demo. EVERYTHING IN THE ONE PLACE The entire course is in one place, creating a seamless and engaging learning experience. COLLABORATION For the first time, students can collaborate with their peers and teacher at the point of learning. VISIBILITY AND IMMEDIATE FEEDBACK The performance of every student is visible to the teacher, and students gain immediate insights into their own levels of understanding and work habits. CUSTOMISATION A highly customisable course that harnesses the power of online learning and allows students and teachers to add and edit their own content.

Administration

Timetabling for education CAREFUL ANALYSIS OF TIMETABLE STRUCTURES TO MAXIMISE CLASS SIZES WITHIN ACCEPTABLE LIMITS MAY CUT YOUR STAFFING COSTS BY THOUSANDS, WRITES CHRIS COOPER OF EDVAL TIMETABLES.

Schools face an ongoing challenge to offer suitable and cost-effective educational opportunities to all students. This is accomplished via efficient scheduling of resources to match classes, teachers and learning spaces. This scheduling is best managed by a well-implemented timetable package. CURRICULUM STRUCTURES When was the last time you reviewed your curriculum structure? Optimisations can be made in the structure of a timetable. Some key considerations could be: • The advantages of running some subjects in a Line or Block and how this might restrict the availability of resources. • Grouping students for a number of subjects giving them more access to specialist rooms and teachers. • Run lines where half the year cohort study core subjects while the remainder study electives. • Setting the number of core classes, or how core and (smaller) practical classes merge together can play a part. Do you really need that extra practical class or are you hindered by a legacy of previous years, which dictates that you ‘always’ split pairs of core classes into three practical classes? This may no longer be the most efficient approach. Perhaps you could run one core class that is ‘also’ a practical class and split three into four. • Combining classes in some subjects may give students access to a greater range of choices by offering electives across two or more years

where vertical classes could consist of students from years 9 & 10, 11 & 12, or 9, 10 & 11 as is common in many states. Composite classes can also be used to run two classes with small numbers of students studying similar subjects or subjects at different levels.

“Using a more complex vertical structure with Years 11 and 12, we saved over 37 periods. This is equivalent to saving over one full-time teaching load!” – Tom Massarella, HT Administration, Dapto High School. Careful analysis of timetable structures to maximise class sizes within acceptable limits may well cut your staffing costs by thousands. Perhaps you do not need to build that extra Science lab, instead just change your curriculum structures to improve occupancy rates on your existing labs and other resources, at no extra cost. WHICH ELECTIVE CLASSES SHOULD RUN? Determining just which electives will run is often difficult. There are constraints on the number of classes that can be staffed and roomed. Then there are the student requests. You could secondguess student choices and just use the raw data from pre-determined lines that always run together.

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However, you could use the preferential weight of students who can be granted subjects, together with the likelihood they will actually complete the subject. If 15 students want Art, and 12 want Biology, and you had to cut one of these classes – which should go? Student preference level should be a strong indicator, but other factors could also be important such as retention of students. Good timetable software will automatically deduce the best arrangement of subjects to run, or numbers of classes to run, within specific guidelines as set by the school. When it comes to generating elective lines it is often better to use an umbrella year structure which allocates lines or blocks for subjects across a number of school years to take advantage of vertical and composite classes. However the decision is made, determining the number and type of classes to run is incredibly complex. It has a massive effect on educational outcomes, retention rates and on the school’s bottom line and should not be a decision taken lightly.

“A timetable consultant showed how we could totally cut two whole classes and yet still satisfy more student preferences than the lines we had proposed to run. This was just an amazing difference.” – Robert Aerlic, Timetabler, Matraville Sports High School.

COLLAPSE CLASSES At the end of Year 11 students typically reassess their educational progress and aspirations. This often leads to a reduction in the number of subjects or units being studied. Suddenly some classes have half the number of students they had at the start of the year. All schools know they can run two classes on a line so they can easily collapse to one class if numbers drop later in the year. But it is not ideal to run both classes in one line, as it reduces access to choice and only applies to that one subject. Clever timetablers and clever software tools allow collapsing of classes “across lines” without changing the subjects granted to students. This can be achieved in several ways, such as swapping students through subjects they take in other lines where there is more than one class of that subject, or by reprocessing the lines themselves. Reprocessing lines may be just a few clicks away, given the right tools. If you could reduce your classes by one or more, without affecting student choice, how much could this save your school? TOTAL COSTS OF TIMETABLE SOFTWARE Big business always focuses on total cost of ownership (TCO), but it is not often the focus in a school. TCO analysis includes total cost of acquisition and operating costs. The cost of a timetable is related far more to the solution quality than the timetable software or labour costs to produce it. With more complex tools, well trained and experienced timetablers, the TCO can be much lower. Timetabling is understood by very few and yet the timetable directs millions of dollars of school resources, shaping the educational lives of thousands. Accessing support in using timetabling software may add to the initial cost but will deliver savings overall. Our own company, Edval Timetables, has a well-established online model providing flexible and efficient support and our training days have BOSTES accreditation in New South Wales. We also provide

“We were shown how we could collapse three classes ‘across lines’. At around $20k per class with on-costs, this was an estimated saving of $60k alone. I later moved from SCEGS Redlands to Tara, and again I was able to collapse three classes across lines this year for a similar $60k estimated saving.” – Sam Cannavo, Director of Curriculum, Tara Anglican School. a range of services with our highly experienced staff such as consultation at key points of structural change, a timetable construction service and a key new service: a ‘timetabler-in-residence’: schools are able to have a year round Edval consultant constructing and maintaining the timetable. All of these options result in improved educational outcomes for schools. WHERE DO I START? Educational entities do not necessarily mandate standards for their school scheduling either in training, in software, in timetabling best practice, as published policy or with organised conventions to bring school knowledge and industry together. Timetable generation rarely gets a mention, even in government tenders, allowing inefficiencies to fester. Who would know what opportunities are being lost in our schools, both educational and financial? This is the hidden cost of timetabling. There are simple, relatively inexpensive solutions to leveraging your existing resources for significant

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financial savings. Review your timetabling software, review your legacy scheduling practices. Change from the ‘We’ve always done it that way’ mindset. Recognise that the timetable is a creative opportunity to really make a difference rather than a ‘job to be done’. Focus far more on the quality of the solution, instead of just completion of a task. The timetable directs the sum total of all the school’s resources and efficient scheduling makes all the difference. Truly value your timetabler. Give them respect. Listen to their advice. Allocate them time to do their job properly, or embrace assistance from external consultants in support, or curriculum reviews. Encourage staff to engage in ongoing industry training courses. Treat any costs for this as a sound investment paying real financial rewards, as well as delivering improved educational outcomes. Why not schedule in some discussion time now, and start changing your bottom line? Chris Cooper is a director of Edval Timetables, and active in Educational Scheduling research. Visit www.edval.com.au for more information. 02 8203 5455 Sydney 03 9020 3455 Melbourne 08 8120 0855 Adelaide sales@edval.com.au

Physical Education

Secondary schools, the health and physical education learning area and ACHPER Alison Turner is the National Executive Director of the Australian Council for Health, Physical Education and Recreation Inc. (ACHPER). She is originally from Adelaide where she was educated and completed her tertiary studies before teaching in the Northern Territory, Queensland and Western Australia. She has held various positions including that of Principal Consultant HPE K-12 for the WA Department of Education 2008 - 2012 and recently has led the Active Living WA project as the principal policy officer for this project. With a background in elite level Volleyball and coaching, she has been Vice President of the WA Branch of ACHPER, member of course advisory committees for writing and developing senior school courses in West Australian Certificate of Education Senior School courses in Physical Education Studies, Health Studies and Outdoor Education, worked with gifted and talented programs including the establishment and review of specialised programs in WA secondary schools, worked as a sessional lecturer at Edith Cowan University in Health Studies from 2009 -2011 and led the WA education department consultation processes during the development of the Australian Curriculum: Health and Physical Education.

THE IMPORTANCE OF QUALITY HEALTH AND PHYSICAL EDUCATION DELIVERY IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS CANNOT BE UNDERSTATED TO ENSURE STUDENTS ARE GIVEN DEVELOPMENTALLY APPROPRIATE OPPORTUNITIES TO ENGAGE IN ACTIVE PLAY AND POSITIVE HEALTH CHOICES, WRITES ALISON TURNER, ACHPER NATIONAL EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR.

education matters secondary

How often do we open a news article and hear of the concerns that face our children and youth regarding Health and Physical Education (HPE) issues? Reports range from articles focused on sedentary living, disengagement with physical activity, bullying, obesity, mental health and general student wellbeing in schools. Often secondary schools and teachers can be expected to provide a “cure” for all social determinants of health and wellbeing. HPE is a learning area that can support children and adolescents in the choices they make and can manifest in the skills, knowledge and understandings that will ensure students are equipped to make decisions that will impact on their own health and wellbeing choices, hopefully for life. As the leading professional association representing teachers and other professionals working in the fields of HPE, ACHPER is invested in making a difference to schools, teachers and students. The “available for use” (not yet endorsed) Australian Curriculum: Health

and Physical Education delivered through the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) is being implemented in schools with diversity amongst states. ACHPER has been proactive in advocating for the value of the HPE learning area, developing partnerships that can contribute to a school’s HPE, sport, health promoting frameworks and activity. ACHPER also delivers professional learning opportunities to specialist HPE teachers, with the aim of contributing to enhancing teacher knowledge, skills and understandings. Secondary schools, in all states other than South Australia, now include Year 7. This systemic adjustment exposes Year 7s to HPE specialist teachers with pedagogy that may enhance delivery of an integrated HPE curriculum. Secondary schools also have the opportunity to deliver senior schooling courses in the context of HPE to give student pathways for ATAR and vocational education and training courses.

education matters secondary

THE IMPORTANCE OF HPE The Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians is strong and clear in its intention for all young people to be supported through education to become successful learners, confident and creative individuals, and active and informed citizens (Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs, 2008). The Foundation – Year 10 (F-10) Australian Curriculum: HPE has been developed with this goal central to its construction. HPE is the curriculum area that engages students in worthwhile learning experiences to develop skills, knowledge, self-efficacy and dispositions that will enable young people to live healthy and active lifestyles. The HPE learning area supports students to make informed decisions about their health and wellbeing and also engage in lifelong activity. A unique aspect of the F-10 HPE learning area is the wide range of learning contexts that provide substantial opportunities for

Physical Education

“With senior schooling HPE courses delivered by state authorities, senior students have the opportunity to prepare for their own career pathways in movement, sport science, health promotion and holistic careers by engaging with the skills and knowledge developed in the HPE learning area.” developing interpersonal and collaborative skills, good communication, decision-making and goal-setting skills. Movement is a powerful medium for learning and, through it, students can develop and practise a range of personal, social and cognitive skills. HPE is a contributor to the development of resilience strategies and skills for conflict resolution and assertiveness. With senior schooling HPE courses delivered by state authorities, senior students have the opportunity to prepare for their own career pathways in movement, sport science, health promotion and holistic careers by engaging with the skills and knowledge developed in the HPE learning area. CHALLENGES IN THE PROVISION OF HPE AS A LEARNING AREA IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS Schools are challenging as well as highlyrewarding environments. Secondary schools and teachers have much asked of them to deliver a holistic scaffold that will ensure students will develop the confidence and capabilities in all learning areas.

A ‘crowded curriculum’ is a phrase often reiterated and recognised universally. Schools have community demands placed upon them to address each and every student’s needs. ACHPER also recognises the responsibilities for teachers in their preparation and delivery of relevant curriculum for 21st century student and current health and physical education agendas. Active and healthy students will have the skills, knowledge and understandings to engage their own and other health decisions. Activity choices in schools may present options to engage and motivate students who may historically and culturally have disengaged from traditional sport models. Sport often enhances school and community engagement, however may not cater to each and every student. Movement and health is vital to all students. The HPE learning area, teachers and schools are aware of the responsibility to support students through education to become successful learners, confident and creative individuals, and active and informed citizens. For this to be achieved,

education matters secondary

the importance of quality HPE delivery in schools cannot be understated to ensure children are given developmentally appropriate opportunities to engage in active play and positive health choices. HOW CAN ACHPER SUPPORT SECONDARY TEACHERS IN HPE? ACHPER advocates for HPE, provides partnership links with education authorities, National Sporting Organisations and other health stakeholders, and also delivers professional learning and resources that can enhance school HPE and teacher quality. ACHPER supports the Australian Curriculum: HPE in its current ACARA form with curriculum content identifying what teachers are expected to teach and students are expected to learn in HPE from F-10. Learning in HPE is enhanced when secondary teachers are aware of the five interrelated propositions underpinning the Australian Curriculum: HPE; focussing on the educative purposes, developing health literacy, including a critical inquiry approach, taking a strengths based approach and valuing movement. This has been the focus of much of ACHPER professional learning both at the state branch level and through our international conferences. ACHPER will continue to unpack the five propositions and will support teacher understanding of the implications these propositions have for the HPE learning area. Professional learning support for the

delivery of senior schooling courses is also available to enable teachers to have current knowledge about the delivery of ATAR and VET based certificates. Whilst we recognise that some decisions are best made at the state and school level, ACHPER also believes that it is necessary for schools to provide opportunities for physical activity participation throughout the year. Australiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviour Guidelines (Department of Health, 2014) highlight the need for minimisation of sedentary behaviour and engagement in regular physical activity to gain health and wellbeing benefits. Schools are important environments for establishing community linkages and access to lifelong physical activity participation by fostering opportunities to appreciate and value movement. This is best delivered to students by teachers. A school environment, curriculum and parental expectations make schools vibrant and evolving communities. ACHPER would like to advocate strongly for HPE as a learning area and other enrichment activities such as sport, dance, outdoor education and evidence-based health programs, to be a crucial element of your school. With the innate enjoyment that children and young adults have for movement, it is essential that HPE be supported through every school environment to ensure that every student has the skills, knowledge and understanding to be engaged, confident and capable learners.

References Department of Health 2014, National Physical Activity Guidelines for Australians, Canberra: Australian Government. Retrieved from http://www.health.gov.au/internet/main/ publishing.nsf/content/health-pubhlth-strateg-phys-actguidelines. Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs 2008, Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians. Retrieved from http://www. curriculum.edu.au/verve/_resources/National_Declaration_ on_the_Educational_Goals_for_Young_Australians.pdf.

Denis Kuvaev / Shutterstock.com

education matters secondary

ABOUT ACHPER Celebrating its 60th year in 2015, the Australian Council for Health, Physical Education and Recreation Inc. (ACHPER) aims to promote active and healthy living for all Australians through education, advocacy, partnership and professional practice. ACHPER is represented at a National level, and also has branches in each state and the Northern Territory. ACHPER has direct contact with over 30,000 HPE professionals and reach to over 3.5 million Australian students in over 9,000 schools throughout Australia. These contacts include specialist and generalist Primary and Secondary HPE teachers, academics and tertiary educators leading HPE teacher training, Principals, students, sport coaches, and education policy and curriculum leaders. We are a member based, not-for-profit organisation with a significant profile across the country. ACHPER also deliver resources, blogs and ongoing opportunities to enhance teacher quality through our website and our two National publications; The Active and Healthy Magazine and the Asia-Pacific Journal of Health, Sport and Physical Education. By offering continuous and current information to teachers, it provides members with the opportunity to tap into the ACHPER academic networks and current evidence-based information that may influence their practice. For further information, please visit www.achper.org.au.

Industry Q&A

Doing away with student exams HARVARD UNIVERSITY PHYSICIST AND EDUCATOR ERIC MAZUR SPEAKS WITH EDUCATION MATTERS EDITOR KATHRYN EDWARDS ABOUT HOW HE BELIEVES APPROACHES TO ASSESSMENT IN EDUCATION ARE OUTDATED AND THAT TEACHERS SHOULD RETHINK THEIR APPROACHES IN ORDER TO BETTER PREPARE THE LEADERS OF TOMORROW.

Eric Mazur is the Balkanski Professor of Physics and Applied Physics at Harvard University, Dean of Applied Physics at Harvard, and Vice-President of the Optical Society. Mazur is a prominent physicist known for his contributions in nanophotonics, an internationally-recognised educational innovator, and a sought after speaker. In education he is widely known for his work on Peer Instruction, an interactive teaching method aimed at engaging students in the classroom and beyond. In 2014 Mazur became the inaugural recipient of the Minerva Prize for Advancements in Higher Education. He has received many awards for his work in physics and in education and has founded several successful companies. Mazur is Chief Academic Advisor for Turning Technologies, a company developing interactive response systems for the education market. Mazur has widely published in peer-reviewed journals and holds numerous patents. He has also written extensively on education and is the author of Peer Instruction: A User’s Manual (Prentice Hall, 1997), a book that explains how to teach large lecture classes interactively, and of the Principles and Practice of Physics (Pearson, 2014), a book that presents a groundbreaking new approach to teaching introductory calculus-based physics. Mazur is a leading speaker on optics and on education. His motivational lectures on interactive teaching, educational technology, and assessment have inspired people around the world to change their approach to teaching.

With our testing and assessing models so much embedded in our education system’s culture, what is a good way to start teaching teachers about more creative thinking and teaching students to be more risk averse? Well, let’s first talk about change in general. I think change is difficult because you don’t know when you start out changing things whether it will get better or worse, and you step into the unknown. So change itself is taking a risk and I think it was Machiavelli, already 500 years ago, who said that nothing is more difficult to undertake than to change the order of things, because the innovator, and that’s actually the word he used, “the innovator” has all those who have done well under the old system for enemies and those who might do better under the new system as lukewarm defenders, and that’s definitely true. I think in education it’s particularly difficult because we’ve built up an almost cartel-like system where the people doing the education are the ones controlling the education too. You know, the people teaching are the people assessing, so you can always assess in a way as to create the appearance that things are all right because you assess for what has been taught, and then there tends to be not really an honest assessment of what we accomplish with our teaching. So in order to induce change, to get to your question finally, I think there are two things that are in need: first of all, people need to realise that we need to change. Why change if you’re not convinced that you have to change? Which brings us back to the point I just raised, that the people teaching are the people assessing in general in schools and in tertiary education, so they’ll always adjust their assessments to

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match their teaching – that means everything is all right, so why will we need to change our assessment? I think, though, if you take an honest view at assessments, you find that it often tests only the lower order thinking skills and that a lot of things that can be done with low order thinking skills are slowly going to, might be offloaded onto information technology, smart phones, computers and so on, so that the jobs that are associated with, let’s say, rote memorisation and rote procedural problem-solving, will simply go away. So I’ve been hammering on that message. I would say that’s the first step that we need to get the word out: if we continue to assess the way we do, we’re going to continue to create people who are good at doing things that can nowadays be done by information technology and therefore those jobs will go away. I think the second step is that if, or once, we convince people that there’s a need for a change, we need to create an environment which is risk-free so that the people who are doing the change, the courageous leading-edge instructors in institutions are okay if not everything works out fine the first time around. There’s a risk in change and the risk is: you might fail. Right, so if we continue to assess the efficacy of teaching the old way, the indicators might not immediately go up or they might even go down, and we need to create an environment where it’s okay for people to try things out. Are there small steps teachers can implement to encourage their students to be risk averse? I think so, yeah. I was walking through a university in Melbourne and, as I was taking

the escalator up to the floor where I was giving my talk, I passed a couple of classrooms that have glass walls so I could look into the classroom, and it’s the first day of exams so the scene I saw in there, even though I didn’t know it was the first day of exams, I could recognise it right away: desks separated by a metre or two, bare tables with just a piece of paper, an eraser and a pen; no calculators, no computers, nothing; students cut off from each other; students cut off from any source of information. Ask yourself, “Will these students ever in their future career encounter a situation where they’re similarly cut off from any source of information; from each other?” The answer’s no. I mean, I certainly can’t think of any case in my work, and I’m sure that in your line of work you don’t get cut off from information and have to come up with everything on your own, sitting alone at a table with just a pencil and an eraser. So why are we testing our students that way? How do we even imagine that the results we get from that testing will reflect something, a skill or knowledge, that is going to be useful in students’ future careers? And as you and I know, deep down in our gut, grades that we give our students are really not reflective of their future success. I mean, I can make a long list of people who dropped out of college or high school and who were immensely successful, and I can make an even longer list of students with absolutely spectacular straight-A records, not because they were so fantastic but because they were great test-sitters. And eventually in life they failed, because they were missing some crucial skill that is very important in real life that was never tested for. So I think that the first thing we need to do is we need to reflect in our assessment processes more the mode of operation in which it is actually going to work. Why cut them off from information? It’s not about storing the Internet in your head; it’s about knowing how to use the information. Why cut them off from each other if they’ll need to work, they’ll need to solve problems collaboratively anyway? Yes, there has to be an individual accountability. But observing how people work together and training people to work together,

teaching people how to work together, I think is an absolutely crucial skill that we really fail to both teach and assess in the standard approach to education.

other people; and have sort of a more Rubric based approach where we rank people in a more absolute sense than in a relative sense.

In your experience and in your research, how are you developing meaningful ranking systems? Well, first of all, I abandoned the standard creating approach because, I mean, how can you even imagine capturing something as complex as a human being’s performance in a single number, single digit, or single letter: a B, or a C, or an A? I mean, how informative is that really? And also if you look at the correlation, have a look in my own class at the correlation between letter grades and actual abilities, and it’s horrendous. I think it’s more an injustice than anything else. So unfortunately I think that the main purpose of assessment has been ranking people, but we do a very poor job at ranking, as we know. And look, if we were really able to rank people very well, then all of the presidents in the world and all of the CEOs of big companies would be graduates of Harvard University and MIT and Stanford and the top few schools. And as you and I know, that’s not true at all. In fact, many excessively successful people come from colleges and universities you’ve never heard of, so the ranking does not translate into actual things that end up mattering in life. So I think that we should basically give up on the ranking but it doesn’t mean we should give up on assessment. No, we should have assessment but we should keep track of people’s performance in dimensions that matters: how well can this person work together with

Now, when do you envisage that more and more countries’ education systems would take up this type of assessment? I’m an optimist, okay, but I’m going to say, “Not in my lifetime.” I’m an optimist and why I am giving you such a pessimistic view I think is because when you look at teaching and classrooms around the world in the 21st century the basic standard approach is still not very different from the one that was used in the middle ages. The education system has probably been more slow to change than any other aspect of society. And in part I think because, as I said, the people teaching are the people assessing. I mean, we don’t have an external accountability or, you know, an easy external accountability. So I think unfortunately change will be very, very slow. There are a couple of countries that I think are ahead and those that are ahead tend to actually do better on international rankings: Finland, Singapore, and so on. I was just at Singapore and I was really impressed by their redesign of learning spaces, by their thinking about innovations in teaching, by their scholarship of teaching and learning. You know, Finland has abolished a lot of testing, well, testing like high stakes testing; that doesn’t mean that there’s no assessment, but there’s just no tests for which students cram and then forget.

education matters secondary

Sex Education

Klaxon call for more comprehensive sex education in Australian secondary schools IF EVER THERE WAS A TIME TO STRIVE FOR IMPROVED SEX EDUCATION IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS, IT’S NOW. JENNY ACKLAND AND JUSTINE KIELY-SCOTT REPORT.

Any secondary teacher with an eye across the newspapers in this country and overseas will be aware of what seems to be an increasing need to have conversations about sexuality and human development with young people, both in schools and at home. Teenagers have long had a negative reputation with labels attached that run along the lines of ‘lazy’, ‘disrespectful’, ‘risk-

taking’, ‘rude’, ‘too talkative’, ‘sullen’, ‘ sleep too much’, and are ‘too sexual’. It’s fundamentally a no-win situation for many young people, but teenagers need to be given credit for knowing more than their adults might realise, for knowing sooner than their adults might realise, and for making good decisions most of the time. When it comes to sex and how babies

Justine Kiely-Scott and Jenny Ackland established Sex Education Australia to help ensure that young people were getting accurate, contemporary and age-appropriate education in primary and secondary schools. Visit www.sexeducationaustralia.com.au for more information.

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are made, and love and relationships, nothing much has changed over the past decades if not hundreds of years. The basic principles of biology remain, however there is one domain of modern life where our young people have a new element to manage and incorporate, and this is technology. When we take the already tricky terrain of relationships and love and sexuality and add another layer on top – the internet, social media, the inclination for sexting and accessing sexually-explicit material online – it can render an already complex area of human development much more difficult to navigate. Sex education must be factually sound and delivered in a non-judgemental manner. Fearmongering is counter productive, and research shows it doesn’t work and can leave young people ignorant. When it comes to sex education, ignorance does not equate with innocence. Depriving young people of education about their bodies and potential future sexual realities does them a disservice and leaves them vulnerable to

misinformation and confusion at best and ill-equipped to manage risk and health at worst. YOUNG PEOPLE AND ACCESS TO RELIABLE, ACCURATE, DIRECT INFORMATION ABOUT DEVELOPMENT OF SEXUALITY Sexuality is a fundamental aspect of human life: it has physical, psychological, spiritual, social, economic, political and cultural dimensions. There have been recent newspaper articles calling for improved sex education in schools across the world.1,2 Sometimes the focus is on sexuality and relationships education in a general context, other times it’s concerned with specific areas of education that principals and educators believe should be implemented in as many schools as possible using a whole-school approach. We believe young people need to be

encouraged to work out what they think about issues to do with their own sexual health and wellbeing, especially when it comes to potentially controversial topics such as, contraception, samesex attraction, age for first time sex, and whether sexual activity is likely to be a part of one’s life at all. Such considerations will include their family attitudes and religious and cultural perspectives, along with personal ideas and beliefs. There will always be differences in opinions surrounding these topics. Of equal importance to the ‘nuts and bolts’ of sex education (STIs and contraception) are the topics that many schools don’t cover, or don’t cover well. It is essential that conversations around pornography, consent, sexual assault, sexual pleasure and safety (physical and emotional) take place. If schools don’t provide quality and comprehensive sex education that includes these topics, and with many parents feeling ill-equipped to talk about these complex issues with their young people, students are often left to try to navigate on their own. If ever there was a time to strive for improved sexuality education, it’s now. This isn’t alarmism. When 93% of 13 to 16-year-old boys are reported to have viewed online pornography3, as teachers we need to ensure that students are well equipped to decode what they are seeing. This means increasing critical literacy and having frank conversations about pornography and what is it and isn’t. Students need to be understand that what they see in pornography is different to what happens in real life. The research is reassuring.4 Education of teenagers in these essential areas of human

Of equal importance to the ‘nuts and bolts’ of sex education (STIs and contraception) are the topics that many schools don’t cover, or don’t cover well. It is essential that conversations around pornography, consent, sexual assault, sexual pleasure and safety (physical and emotional) take place.

education matters secondary

At the primary level, quality sex education has been shown to: • Help increase children’s personal safety; • Help increase children’s confidence and selfesteem; and, • Make children better able to make healthy decisions as they grow older. At the secondary level, quality sex education has been shown to: • Delay the first experience of sex; • Reduce STIs; • Reduce instances of unplanned pregnancy; • Reduce instances of coerced sexual activity; • Reduce instances of sexual assault; and, • Increase confidence and ability to negotiate consensual sexual activity that is mutual, respectful, communicative and safe. Sources: Department of Education and Early Childhood Development, 2011. Catching on Early: Sexuality Education for Victorian Primary Schools, Melbourne. Walsh, J, 2011, Talk soon. Talk often: a guide for parents talking to their kids about sex, Western Australia. Sexual Health and Blood-borne Virus Program, Perth.

development leads to reduction in the likelihood of contracting an STI and less chance of an unplanned, unwanted pregnancy occurring. Research also shows comprehensive sex education will not make young people go and do what they learn about, such programs serve to help delay first-time sex and help young people feel more positive about themselves and their bodies. They are more likely to use protective methods when they become sexually active which results in increased safety and wellbeing, both physical and social/emotional. Age-appropriate education at the primary level, as well as being personally empowering for children, demonstrates inclusivity and the value of diversity, builds knowledge, and importantly also can increase protective behaviours and help safeguard against child sexual abuse. Young people are saturated with conflicting messages

Sex Education

– evidence shows that there is a gap between this and what their young people say. For example, 90% of parents consider themselves approachable on the topic of sex but only 74% of teens agree.5 Other parents think that all that is required is a single chat about how babies are made, the old ‘birds and the bees’ conversation. Proper sexuality education is a series of talks over years, hopefully continued from when a child is young to when they develop autonomy from their parents. It seems that parents are increasingly at a loss when it comes to establishing boundaries with their teenage children, and to discussing matters of sexuality. Parents may be horrified to know the stories we hear about early teen sexualised behaviour, pre-teen access to and misinformation from media and society and are in need of support and guidance to deal with these messages. Parents are a vital link in helping young people develop their ability to be critical consumers. PARENTS AS PARTNERS IN SEXUALITY AND RELATIONSHIPS EDUCATION Parents are the first sexuality educators in their child’s life, but as a child grows older and develops a sexual identity this topic can be moved into the ‘too hard’ basket. Many young people don’t bring these matters up with their parents or caregivers, even if they have a very close relationship otherwise. During adolescence, discussions about sex is one area which doesn’t follow previous patterns. While parents might think they are doing the job – and a good one

sexually explicit material online. This exposure needs unpacking with an adult so the child can be reassured or corrected about wrong beliefs, and given a chance to articulate what they have seen and have any questions answered. In secondary school it’s important to talk about what is seen in pornography and what is absent. One principal contacted us after she saw an article in the paper in 2012.6 The article was a call for education on pornography to be included in secondary school sexuality education. Now, we deliver sessions exclusively on the topic of pornography in an effort to help students develop a critical lens through which to view, or not view, such material. We let them know that pornography, especially commercial mainstream material, is often missing safer sex messages, the context of a relationship, or even the context of a casual flirtation. That often the sex is unrealistic, that consent is not seen negotiated, and that usually the focus is on male pleasure. That it’s a commercial enterprise and the people involved are professionals and performers. In the ‘old days’, pornography was hard to find but now it’s hard to avoid. Back then we had to go looking for it, now it comes looking for us. It was expensive and now it’s free. Instead of young people fumbling their way delightfully to learning

“We have a choice to make: leave children to find their own way through the clouds of partial information and misinformation that they will find from media, the internet, and their peers or instead face up to the challenge of providing clear, well informed, and scientifically-grounded sexuality education based on the universal values of respect and human rights.” UNESCO (2009) International technical guidance on sexuality education pornography, sexting and so on. Unfortunately, the sizeable gap between what parents believe their children know and are doing, and the reality, will only become more apparent. It’s time for parents to get real about internet supervision, laptops in bedrooms overnight, and mobile phones with internet connectivity. Children are accessing

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what they like and don’t like, want and don’t want, many young men are seeing repeated explicit online sex well before they’ve even had their first kiss and many young women are being asked to provide a ‘porn sex’ experience. Symantec’s 2009 study of children online showed that ‘porn’ was the fourth most popular search word for

children ages seven and under. Some young boys are looking at pornography to ‘see what sex looks like.’ That’s a lot of pressure on developing sexualities and one thing is clear: pornography is not a good place to go and learn about sex, and neither is Google. A TOP DOWN COMMITMENT Ultimately, it is schools that provide curriculum opportunities, whether through initiative or compliance, and with the widening scope of what young people are being exposed to coupled with trends towards greater social liberalism, so comes an increasing responsibility

to respond with relevant and reliable education. Education needs to change, or broaden, to include the topics that fall outside the basics of conception and transmission of STIs, and it needs to be a collective enterprise, a partnership between schools and parents. Often parents look to schools and the media for reinforcement or guidance in these matters. The more investment that is made in this domain of education, the better-equipped young people will be to navigate their way sexually, or not, to manage risk so it’s limited, to increase awareness about matters of

choice and consent and to increase enjoyment and satisfaction of what is for many people, an important part of adult life. At Sex Education Australia we believe that knowledge empowers all to make the best decisions, and being informed leads to better health and safety. SEA is pro young people. We believe young people make good decisions and responsible choices when given the opportunity to learn about and discuss accurate and current information regarding their sexual, emotional and social health and wellbeing.

In addition to matters of contraception and prevention of STIs (the ‘nuts & bolts’ of secondary sex education), discussions should be happening around: • Respectful relationships; • Respectful sexual conduct – regardless of context; • Sexual decision-making; • Consent (enthusiastic and freely-given); • Coercion (what pressure looks like, how it can tip into a sexual assault/rape); • The grey areas in communication and mis-matched expectations and how they can become problematic; • Sex and the law; • Sex and technology; • Same-sex attraction; • Asexuality; • Transgender issues; and, • Intersex condition.

Resources for secondary teachers Catching on Later – sexuality education for Victorian secondary schools (follows Catching on Early – for primary schools) It’s time we talked – supporting young people in an era of explicit sexual imagery http://www.itstimewetalked.com.au/ References 1. http://www.theguardian.com/education/2015/feb/17/sex-education-mandatory-all-schools-mps-demand 2. http://www.theage.com.au/act-news/better-sex-talk-needed-in-secondary-schools-say-womens-health-advocates-20150529-ghceg6 http://www.theage.com.au/national/sex-educationneeds-radical-overhaul-say-experts-20140322-35abm.html http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/life/lets-talk-about-sex-20121009-27b93.html 3. MJ Flemming, S Greentree, D Cocotti-Muller, KA Elias and S Morrison, ‘Safety in cyberspace: adolescent safety and exposure online’, Youth and Society, vol 38, no. 2, 2006, pp 135-154 UNESCO (2009). International technical guidance on sexuality education. 4. Telling it like it is: A parent and teen insight (2008) Marie Stopes International. 5. Teachers urged to address porn factor (Denise Ryan, 13 Feb, 2012 The Age)

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Making the Grade

Collaboration driving teacher professional learning TEACHERS NEED TO CONTINUALLY BUILD THEIR SKILLS, BE COGNISANT OF NEW TECHNOLOGIES AND IDEAS, AS WELL AS ENGAGE WITH OTHER EDUCATION PROFESSIONALS IN ORDER TO RIDE THE TIDES OF BEST AND NEXT PRACTICE IN THEIR CHOSEN CAREER, WRITE ANDREW NAPIER, JODI GORDON-MOULDS AND TROY THOMSON.

Implicit in the development of the National Professional Standards for Teachers Standards is, “The understanding that throughout their teaching life, teachers like other professionals will be actively engaged in updating and extending their professional knowledge and practice. This is necessary for them to remain effective in their role as they progress to being an exemplary classroom practitioner and a leader in the profession.” (Cole, 2012) As educators, we continually have a number of demands placed on us in order to deliver engaging, relevant and appropriate teaching programs that effectively prepare our students for both future tertiary and work pathways.

Professional learning is paramount in this process. Teachers need to continually build their skills, be cognisant of new technologies and ideas, as well as engage with other education professionals in order to ride the tides of best and next practice in their chosen career. In the Essential Guide to Professional Learning (AITSL, 2012), professional learning culture is considered to be collaborative when, “Teachers engage in frequent, ongoing formal and informal conversations about pedagogy and teaching practice” and “teachers work together to research, plan and design effective teaching strategies and programs.” South Australian Inspired Learning (SAIL) is an

L-R: Troy Thomson (Co-Founder SAIL, Director Learning Technologies Pulteney Grammar), Jodi Gordon-Moulds (Co-Founder SAIL, Microsoft Innovative Expert), Andrew Napier (Co-Founder SAIL, Head of House St John’s Grammar School).

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exciting new collaborative, professional learning community, founded by a small group of educators in Adelaide, South Australia. Collaboration is regarded as a rewarding professional learning experience, impacting on both teacher and student learning. Through dialogue afforded by SAIL’s online collaborative space, professional sharing, experimentation and critique can occur between teachers and other members of the South Australian education community. “Collaboration can encompass a range of activities, from teachers working together in an informal, unplanned way to the implementation of more formal collaborative approaches, such as professional learning communities. Effective collaboration is frequent and ongoing and, when most successful, comprises an integral part of daily routines.” (AITSL 2012) Within every effective professional learning community, there exists a group of teachers who regularly collaborate, with a focus on achieving continual professional improvement. Coughlin and Kajder (2009), describe the enormous benefits of online collaboration for educators and their classroom practice. The four qualities that they attribute to successful online collaborative communities are; their infinite shelf life; the ability for teachers to access groups that are relevant to their specific interests or needs; community content can be edited, shared and reposted; and the accessibility of resources at any time. With the launch of the SAIL Yammer professional learning community, South Australian Educators are provided with an easily accessible,

vibrant online community. Teachers will have an easy platform to colaborate, share ideas and engage in dialogue... a giant leap for professional learning in South Australia. The founders of SAIL, a group of teachers from across the various education sectors in South Australia, were the South Australian representatives of the 2015 Microsoft Innovative Educator (MIE) Experts program, inspired to create a supportive professional learning community for teachers state-wide. The MIE program was created to recognise global educator visionaries who are using technology effectively in their teaching environment and to foster better student learning outcomes. The program provides professional development and collaborative opportunities for its members who are then encouraged to further extend this network and reach out to other educators. Jane Mackarell, Education Programs Manager at Microsoft Australia, reflected that the MIE Program has been an inspiring journey working with passionate and innovative educators from across Australia. To have the opportunity to see how technology can transform classrooms across Australia and make a real difference to student outcomes through these amazing educators has been a privilege. To see this community grow locally in South Australia is testament to how educators are passionate about sharing with and learning from their peers. MIE Experts work closely with Microsoft to lead innovation in education. They advocate and share their thoughts on effective use of technology in education with both peers and policy makers. They provide insight and feedback to Microsoft on new products and tools for education, and exchange best practices as they work together to promote innovation in teaching and learning. The MIE program in Australia and New Zealand is comprised of approximately 50 educators from across the two countries, drawn from all sectors of education. Membership of the MIE program had provided this group of South Australian educators with an amazing network of teachers from throughout Australia and New Zealand, as well as connection to the worldwide MIE program. Having benefited from the opportunities provided, the challenge for this small group in Adelaide was to develop an easily accessible professional learning space for all teachers in South Australia. A space where they can keep up to date with new developments in technology and share

L-R: Andrew Napier, Jodi Gordon-Moulds, Sally Denton (Credit Union SA), Debbie Meich (Credit Union SA), Eva Balan-Vnuk (Microsoft), Troy Thomson.

“Collaboration is regarded as a rewarding professional learning experience, impacting on both teacher and student learning.” examples of inspired teaching practice. As yet, there has never been an online professional development and networking opportunity that reached all teachers across all education sectors in South Australia. SAIL was created to satisfy this need. South Australian Inspired Learning (SAIL), is an online Yammer community and professional learning space for educators to share ideas, experiences, stories, resources, and best practice to effectively support and foster inspired learning in all South Australian schools. SAIL features voluntary contributions from across the South Australian education landscape, its steering committee comprising of representatives from CESA, AISSA and DECD, along with Microsoft Expert Educators and teachers. It aims to be the first place of support for all teachers seeking to access South Australia’s unique, learning-focused community. It is intended that SAIL will be accessed by as many South Australian educators as possible. First and foremost, SAIL is a Yammer collaborative space – freely open to all educators and people interested in professional learning and networking. Participants can share their quality learning experiences, learning activities, videos, blogs, resources, anecdotes, questions…, in fact, anything that has a genuine education focus. Members are encouraged both to share and benefit from the experiences of others, participants can access mentoring and collaboration between teachers throughout the state, facilitated through the simple and easy Yammer site. This provides an opportunity

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for self-access to professional development for teachers. The beauty of SAIL is that it throws all South Australian teachers together in a highly collaborative mixing pot. Also in development is the SAIL Education “Regatta”, providing an exciting opportunity for educators to meet, collaborate and share their experiences of inspirational learning in real time. SAIL Steering committee member, Rob Sieben from Prince Alfred College in Adelaide has been critical in the establishment of high-quality conference facilities at the school, and it is anticipated that the first SAIL Education Regatta will be held in April 2016 in the newly-created professional learning facility at Prince Alfred College. The professional learning facility at PAC will be a strategic alliance of parties committed to professional learning programs and the enhancement of teaching and learning in the 21st Century. It will provide a mechanism for parties to share resources and coordinate the delivery of their programs so as to maximise the benefit to schools, teachers and school leaders throughout South Australia. PAC’s Professional Learning Centre aims to support school leaders in identifying the strategic vision for professional learning within their schools, and to work in partnership with educational professionals on a global stage to develop new approaches to teaching and learning. The centre aims to work with educational leaders and teachers to ensure that any integration of ICTs into the teaching program is considered from a learning and outcomes perspective rather than from a

Making the Grade

L-R: Cheryl Bauer (Principal St John’s Grammar), Hon Susan Close MP (Minister for Education), Anne Dunstan (Principal Pulteney Grammar), Carolyn Grantskalns (CE AISSA).

teacher-centered perspective. The SAIL Committee is excited to launch its first real-time, face-to-face event in this contemporary space. SAIL was launched on July 31 at the Royal South Australian Yacht Squadron with special guests, The Honourable Susan Close MP (SA Minister for Education) along with representatives from each education sector in South Australia, including Ms Carolyn Grantskalns, Chief executive AISSA; Ms Monica Conway, Assistant Director – Catholic Education of SA (CESA); and Susan Cameron, Executive director, Learning Improvement (DECD). A number of leaders from across the various education sectors also attended the event. The Royal South Australian Yacht Squadron provided the beautiful backdrop for the launch of SAIL, while an impressive selection of delicious Barossa Valley wines were generously provided by Kaesler Wines. At the launch, Dr Susan Close MP, acknowledged South Australian teachers who are, “Embracing opportunities to connect and collaborate with each other, using a range of online networks to share ideas, successes and challenges and stay in touch with latest developments in education. Linking up with teachers from other schools and systems through online networks like SAIL can unlock a wealth of new ideas, activities, strategies and support, with students reaping the benefits.” Carolyn Grantskalns, Chief executive of AISSA, commented that, “Research such as that by Patrick Griffin and others makes it clear that being part of a responsible, accountable team, empowers and adds value to student learning and teacher self-efficacy. The SAIL initiative is an exciting way to enable a

professional learning team to extend beyond the boundaries of an individual school campus, enabling those interested in pursuing a shared improvement agenda to work collegially for the benefit of their students. I commend those who initiated the venture and wish all the participants a rich learning journey”. SAIL gratefully acknowledges the support provided by founding partner, Microsoft Australia, who have provided a great deal of support and advice in the development of SAIL. “We are really pleased to be working with Microsoft Innovative Educators in South Australia to support and recognise their innovative approaches to incorporating technology in lessons to enable better learning and student outcomes. Microsoft is committed to developing teacher capabilities and confidence in design and digital technologies, in line with the new Australian Curriculum, and looks forward to partnering with SAIL to achieve this,” Dr Eva BalanVnuk, Microsoft South Australia. Debbie Meich, Sponsorship Co-ordinator from Credit Union SA, who has worked with the SAIL committee to provide financial support for this initiative, says, “Credit Union SA values the work of teachers and the education community and is pleased to support SAIL in their creation of a unique and engaging professional learning space for South Australian Teachers.” The SAIL Yammer community is free and can be accessed by all South Australian educators. Within the site, there exists a number of professional interest groups that members can join. Those interested in more information can email admin@sail.sa.edu.au or visit the sail.sa.edu.au website, where there is a link to access the SAIL community.

Andrew Napier is a Science and Biology teacher at St John’s Grammar School in Belair, South Australia. He also has been part of the Microsoft Innovative Educator program since 2014. He is passionate about teaching Science and also holds the pastoral care position of Head of House in the Senior School. He is currently undertaking a Masters of Education at Flinders University, with a focus on ICT in education. Andrew’s personal interest in education centres on 21st century learning and eLearning design, supported by innovative use of technology. Jodi Gordon-Moulds is currently the Director of Digital Learning Technologies at Adelaide’s Seymour College and a Microsoft Innovative Educator Expert (2015). Jodi is inspired and driven to provide exciting and engaging STEM and digital technology learning experiences for students of all ages. She also believes that teachers require robust professional learning opportunities to apply 21st Century Learning in their classrooms to realise the full potential technology in education. Jodi is currently undertaking her Ph.D. exploring the impact of Educational Technology Policy on teaching and learning in South Australia. Troy Thomson is Director of Learning Technologies at Pulteney Grammar School in Adelaide. An educational leader who enjoys the challenge of leading change within schools. Currently he is working in a strategic and staff development role promoting contemporary pedagogy through the molding of teaching and learning with technology. His core professional interest is in establishing highly effective performance and development cultures within schools – built on contemporary teaching and learning practice, including blended and personalised learning styles. Troy is a Microsoft Expert Educator and 21st Century Learning Design facilitator, and is excited to be a part of the powerful conversations that assist teachers design and implement engaging learning experiences that embed innovative technologies.

References AITSL. (2012). The Essential Guide to Professional Learning; Collaboration. AITSL. Cole, P. Linking effective professional learning with effective teaching practice. Retrieved from AITSL: http://www.aitsl.edu.au/docs/default-source/default-document-library/linking_effective_ professional_learning_with_effective_teaching_practice_-_cole Viewed 2015, July 17 Coughlin, E., & Kajder, S. (2009). The Impact of Online Collaborative Learning on Educators and Classroom Practices. CISCO. SA, T. R. (2015, July 16). Professional Learning. Retrieved from Teachers Registration Board of South Australia: http://www.trb.sa.edu.au/about-professional-learning

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