Jonesieblog

So the “best class ever”  have moved on to new teachers, and I have new classes starting on Monday. I’ve been reflecting, for myself and in my role as head of department, on what I am hoping to achieve by using ICT with my new classes. I want to make sure that I’m focussing on quality learning and teaching, not on ICT for its own sake. Here’s a provisional list of aims:

1. help students  to reflect upon their own learning
2. help them  to discuss their learning with each other and with me at any time
3. help them  to gather evidence of their own learning
4. help them to learn collaboratively
5. help them to self-assess their progress, and peer assess each other’s
6. provide them with alternative resources to “close the gap” if they have not mastered learning objectives
7. provide parents/carers with information about their children’s learning
8. provide me with tools to manage assessment data
9. save money!

Along with this list of potential benefits, I have a list of possible tools to deliver the benefits:

• Moodle
• Glow
• Google Apps
• Edubuzz blogs
• desktop applications and the school server
• ad-hoc use of Web 2.0 tools (Wallwisher, Posterous, Twitter etc.)
• Non-ICT approaches

I’m going to work my way through the first list in subsequent blog posts, considering the best solution for each (whilst at the same time thinking about the whole package). Please let me know if you think I’ve missed any important potential benefits, or important tools. Also please let me know if you have been through a similar thought process and have any conclusions to share.

This may take a while – don’t expect a new post in this series every day – and I may give up on the series if I feel that I’ve reached a decision already.

Stumble it!