The Virtual Staffroom

Jess McCulloch is an extremely enthusiastic Chinese language teacher who is turning to technology to help engage and excite her students about the language. In this episode Jess talks about some of the cool tools she is using in her classroom. If you cannot see the audio controls, listen/download the audio file here A small school in country Australia might seem an unusual place to find students learning to speak Chinese, but not for Jess McCulloch’s students. Jess is also looking to set up her website as a place for language teachers to be able to network and connect, so if you are a language teacher (or know one) take a look over at www.technolote.com. Some links from this episode… Technolote.com - Jess’s main websiteTechnoChinese - The class blogs for Jess’s classesSo Damn Hard! - Great article about learning ChineseChinesePod - Learn how to say all sorts of useful things!Skype - Free communication tool for connecting classroomsLangwitches - Silvia Tolisano’s site for language teachingVoicethread - Digital storytelling for Web 2.0Rudd at APEC - Kevin Rudd’s address to the Chinese delegates at APECComments welcome, in any language, in the comment box below.

The K12 Online Conference is an innovative approach to professional development for educators.  In this episode we talk with the conveners of the event and discuss the history and philosophy behind it. If you cannot see the audio controls, listen/download the audio file here Started in 2006, the conference offers an amazing array of downloadable presentations on a wide range of topics. In this episode we talk with Darren Kuropatwa, Lani Ritter-Hall and Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach. Along with Wes Fryer who unfortunately couldn’t join us for this recording, we discuss the history and philosophy of the event and the incredible opportunity it presents to educators for the 2007 conference. At the time of recording, the pre-conference keynote by David Warlick has been released, and the official launch of the main conference is only days away… hopefully this podcast will encourage you to go check it out a little more and to take part. (Of course, the presentations will be archived for future access so you can visit them at any time, but it will be great to take part in as it unfolds.) Thanks also go to Simon O’Carroll, Kim Cofino, Graham Wegner and Carolyn Foote for their insights into what they got out of last year’s event. Some links for this episode… www.k12onlineconference.org - The main conference blogThe Schedule of Events - See what’s coming upWhere do I start? - A guide for first time attendeesPreconference Keynote - from David WarlickBlogs of contributors to this episode… Darren KuropatwaLani Ritter-HallSheryl Nussbaum BeachWes FryerDavid WarlickSimon O’CarrollKim CofinoGraham WegnerCarolyn FooteI really hope you get inspired to take part in the conference after hearing this!

This episode comes to you directly from the Fourth National Interactive Whiteboard Conference on the Gold Coast. We wander around the conference interviewing delegates, as well as bringing you part of videoconference session with Ben Hazzard. If you cannot see the audio controls, listen/download the audio file here Organised by IWBnet, the conference assembled a great team of presenters to share a huge variety of ideas, techniques, tips and advice on using IWBs with their colleagues. In this podcast we wander around the conference doing on-the-spot interviews with delegates, as well as bringing you part of a Skype videoconference session with Ben Hazzard from the SmartBoard Lesson podcast. Links from this show… IWB.net.au - The organisers of the eventEmmanuel College - the school that hosted the eventCommander - The major sponsor for the eventPDtoGo - Ben and Joan’s Smartboard Lesson PodcastEnjoy! A big shoutout to everyone I met at the conference who was so friendly and encouraging to me about the podcast too… it was great to meet some listeners!

As a leading teacher-librarian, Barbara Braxton knows about information literacy. In this episode, we talk with Barbara about the information process, developing "thick questions", and creating tasks that avoid the need to plagiarise. If you cannot see the audio controls, listen/download the audio file here Barbara is well respected amongst the Australian online teaching community and she has some great insights into how we get kids to use information. Oh, and a couple of political viewpoints as well…. Links mentioned in the podcast… Evaluating Internet-based resources - An article by David WarlickJimmy Wales on Ted Talks - The insiders story on WikipediaVelcro crop under challenge - If it’s on the Internet it must be true, right?From Now On - Great resources from Jamie MackenzieQuestioning.org - More great Mackenzie stuffThe Quizzard of Oz - Barbara’s pet quiz projectThanks to Barbara for making the time to chat to me on one of her fleeting visits back to Canberra. As always, listeners’ comments are welcome below.

Edublogs is a well-respected free educational blogging service started two years ago by James Farmer. In this episode we talk to James about the Edublogs service, where it grew from and where it's going, and some great ideas for classroom blogging. If you cannot see the audio controls, listen/download the audio file here Since it started, the service has grown in leaps and bounds, and now hosts nearly 100,000 individual blogs for teachers and students. It’s been an amazingly valuable and versatile service for the educational blogging community, and Edublogs offers one of the most cutting edge free blogging services on the Web. I’d been trying to arrange this interview with James for a while, and coincidentally we just happened to record this on Edublogs’ second birthday. Happy Birthday Edublogs and thanks for sharing the love James! Links from this show… Edublogs - The main Edublogs siteWPMUDEV - Another of James’ WP projectsWordpress - The official Wordpress websiteIncSub - James’ personal blogAs always, we welcome your comments. Heck, you ought to at least wish Edublogs a happy birthday!

Adrian Bruce is an innovative Australian teacher who freely gives away his work over the Internet. After nearly 10 years of giving his stuff away, his website gets over 2 million hits every month as it distributes his work to students all over the world. If you cannot see the audio controls, listen/download the audio file here A past winner of the Microsoft Innovative Teacher Award, Adrian is continually trying new things, playing with new software and thinking of new ways to integrate ICTs into his work. In this episode we get some insights into the mind of a truly creative and generous teacher. Some links from this show… www.adrianbruce.com - Adrian’s WebsiteTeacher Toolbox - Adrian’s BlogProject Starfish - An award winning class projectClass Blogmeister - David Warlick’s blog engineShannon’s Blog - As mentioned in the showPodomatic - For making podcasts easilyAudacity - For working with soundPaint.net - Paint, reinventedGo visit his website! It’s great!

In this episode we talk to Simon O'Carroll and Neil D'Aguair about the Flat Planet Project. These two teachers met via the blogosphere and came up with this effective project for their students that took them much further than they ever expected. If you cannot see the audio controls, listen/download the audio file here The Flat Planet Project is a remarkable wiki project run by Simon O’Carroll from Ontario, Canada, and Neil D’Aguair from Surrey, UK. These two teachers of Religious Education met via the blogosphere and together came up with a simple yet incredibly effective research project for their students with topics such as climate change, vegetarianism, air pollution and endangered species. In the process, they took the students much further than they ever expected. In this episode we talk to Simon and Neil about the behind-the-scenes of the Flat Planet Project. Using the free Wikispaces service, their students worked collaboratively across the Atlantic to create an incredibly impressive joint project. Along the way, both teachers and students got far more out of the project than they expected. Some links we mentioned in the episode… The Flat Planet Project - Simon O’Carroll and Neil D’AguiarFlat Classroom Project - Vicki Davis and Julie LindsayWiki While you Work - Mark WagnerFree Wikispaces for EducatorsSimon Says - Simon’s BlogIntellectual Bohemian - Neil’s Blog

In this episode we talk with Rob Ruberry and Jason Hando, two Australian teachers that have a good deal of experience with such Open Source tools as Joomla, Mambo and Moodle. We discuss the pros and cons of Open Source software generally. If you cannot see the audio controls, listen/download the audio file here Open Source software holds some interesting possibilities for education. With some amazing products around that are generally completely free to use, it’s no wonder that more and more schools are starting to look seriously at GNU/GPL Open Source as a viable alternative to the common proprietary software model. Some links to the tools, people and ideas mentioned in this episode… Joomla!MamboMoodleJohn “Mad Dog” HallThe Free Software FoundationWhat is “Free Software”?

Our guests in this episode are Bruce Fuda and Mark Harriott from Stromlo High School in the ACT.  Their school is developing their own curriculum, has recently restructured itself as a Year 6-10 school, and has also been targeted as an IT-focused school. If you cannot see the audio controls, listen/download the audio file here Unlike other jurisidictions in Australia, the ACT School system does not have a traditional syllabus structure - instead, it requires schools to develop their own curriculum based on a framework derived from the national curriculum statements and profiles. In 2006/07, that framework has been reviewed and schools now face the challenge of implementing the new framework over the next 12 months. As well as redeveloping its curriculum, Stromlo High has recently restructured itself to be a Year 6 - 10 school. And because the school already has a strong use of technology it has also been targeted as an IT-focused school where the use of ICT in learning and teaching is just a normal part of the way the school works. Some links regarding this episode… The new curriculum framework for ACT schools, Phase 1 (pdf)The new curriculum framework for ACT schools, Phase 2 (pdf)Towards 2020, a funding plan for ACT schoolsACT DET Learning Technologies Plan 2004-2006 (pdf)If you have any thoughts or suggestions to offer Bruce and Mark, please drop a line in the comments section below, or email Bruce directly. I’m sure he would love to hear your thoughts about the school and its future.

In this episode we talk with Janet Barnstable from Oak Park, Illinois and Sharon Peters from Montreal, Quebec. Both Janet and Sharon are leading proponents of collaborative online learning projects. If you cannot see the audio controls, listen/download the audio file here Flat Classrooms are about removing the boundaries of geography and time, and enabling students to work with other students wherever they might be in the world. Both Janet and Sharon are leading proponents of collaborative online learning projects, getting their students to work on projects with kids in other countries by leveraging the power of the Internet. The term Flat Classrooms derives from Thomas Friedman’s book “The World is Flat”. Some links relevant to this episode… Percy Julian Middle SchoolLower Canada CollegeSharon’s BlogThomas Friedman - The World is FlatThomas Friedman talking at MIT (Video)Time Magazine - How to Bring our Schools out of the 20th CenturyGlobal Virtual ClassroomThinkquestGlobal DreamersCyberteen E-zineCyber Dictionary ProjectCUSeeMe Video ConferencingSkype IP TelephonyOz Teachers Travel Buddy ProjectAs always, your feedback is more than welcome! If you have any tips or additional links that might be useful for collaborative projects please share them by dropping a link in the comments below.

Paul McMahon talks about the sorts of planning and background issues involved in transitioning a school from a traditional learning environment to one in which students are given laptops as learning tools. If you cannot see the audio controls, listen/download the audio file here In this episode we explore the issues that arise when a school starts thinking about moving to a one-to-one computing model using laptop computers, an area in which Australia has been somewhat of a pioneer. We talk with Paul McMahon, an Australian educator living in Hong Kong, about the sorts of planning and background issues involved in transitioning a school from a fairly traditional learning environment to one in which students are given laptops as learning tools. All Saints’ College PerthLearning Solutions, Hong KongComputelecThe One Laptop Per Child ProjectHave a safe and happy Christmas and New Year!

Luc Zwartjes is a geography teacher from Belgium with a deep interest in the use of GIS/GPS. His work is a great example of a passionate teacher working with students on real-world problems using sophisticated technology to create engaging tasks. If you cannot see the audio controls, listen/download the audio file here As well as an excellent overview of the potential of GIS in the classroom, Luc offers some subtle yet profound insights into the role of technology, the teacher, and the student in a 21st century classroom… providing a bird’s eye view of both education and the planet. Links relevant to this episiode... ESRI - GISsoftwareThe Eduspace projectEduspace Article written by Luc for the IGU conference in Brisbane (1.5Mb PDF)Google EarthGE Pro qualifications for schools to apply for 2 free Google Earth Pro licenses(PDF)Some useful books for learning more about GIS Exploring the Dynamic Earth (with worked-out projects for use with ArcView 3.2x)Mapping Global citiesMapping our worldGIS for everyoneAs always, comments are welcome. Please pass this podcast on to any geography teachers you might know. If they won’t listen to a podcast, burn them a CD… but they ought to hear this episode!

In this episode we talk with Bryn Jones and Paul McMahon about a range of ideas and issues around the use of IWBs. We also touch on the value of an IWB enabled classroom as well as a number of new IWB technologies for the future. If you cannot see the audio controls, listen/download the audio file here Interactive Whiteboards seem to be a popular topic of discussion amongst teachers, so in this episode we talk with Bryn Jones from Fremantle, WA, and Paul McMahon from Hong Kong. Links for this episode: OnfinityIdeal ResourcesE-BeamLearning Solution Hong KongICTPDAtomic LearningEasiteachQuizdomTaiwanese Quiz Device (Internet Explorer only)SMART TechnologyPrometheanOne Laptop Per Child ProjectDongtan - China’s sustainable city projectAs always, your feedback and comments are welcome. Enjoy!

In this episode we explore the use of Skype as a communication tool by hosting a group Skypecast with members of the Australian OzTeachers group. Skypecasts enable a large group of people to get together in a virtual chat space and talk in real time. If you cannot see the audio controls, listen/download the audio file here After spending some time sorting out the quirks of the system, we managed to have a few interesting conversations about online collaboration, international sharing, and how Skype might be used in an educational context. My apologies in advance for some of the audio quality in this episode - large group Skypecasts can get a bit noisy (as this one did at times) but there’s still plenty of good stuff in here. Links from this episode: SkypeSkypecastingOzTeachersAnne’s blog about our Skype callChris’ blog about our Skype callA big thank you to everyone who contributed to this episode! You know who you are.

Interactive Whiteboards are becoming a central component of a 21st Century classroom.   Join John Pearce, Margo Metcalf and Mal Lee as they talk about the best ways to implement an IWB program. If you cannot see the audio controls, listen/download the audio file here In this episode we talk about the best strategies and ideas for introducing interactive whiteboards into your school. We chat with John Pearce from Geelong, Mal Lee from Canberra and Margo Metcalf from Sydney. John is a grade 3/4 teacher who uses IWBs in his classroom, and Mal and Margo are from IWBnet and they help teachers get started with IWBs. Together, they explore some fabulous ideas and tips for implementing IWBs successfully. Links from this weeks episode: Mr P’s Interactive Whiteboard BlogIWB NetPDtogo SMARTBoard PodcastAs always, you’re welcome to drop us a line in the comments!