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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>hi all</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>im currently in the process of trying to get ICT
re-introduced to yr 7 and 8 at 1 or 2 sessions a week. last few years there has
been no ICT subject at yr 7 and an elective at yr 8 for each
semester</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>the attempt at intergration has been very
unsatisfactory - some students get heaps of time in the labs, some very little
according to which teacher they may happen to get. very few get expert
tuition</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>im finding that the students in yr 9 this year
have very poor skills</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>-andrew grimshaw</FONT></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr
style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=Meadows.Roslyn.M@edumail.vic.gov.au
href="mailto:Meadows.Roslyn.M@edumail.vic.gov.au">Meadows, Roslyn M</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=yr7-10it@edulists.com.au
href="mailto:yr7-10it@edulists.com.au">Year 7 - 10 Information Technology
Teachers' Mailing List</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Thursday, June 23, 2005 7:26
PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> RE: [Yr7-10it] ICT in the
Essential Learning Standards</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV id=idOWAReplyText96643 dir=ltr>
<DIV dir=ltr><FONT face=Arial color=#000000 size=2>Thanks Paula,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr><FONT face=Arial size=2>Having poured over the documentation,
publications, powerpoint presentations, DVD and website since I first saw
the VELS booklet last year (and went "oh shock horror!"), I believe that I,
like most others on this list, fully understand the gist (and possible
implications) of VELS. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr><FONT face=Arial size=2>But it is our collective fear that
given the opportunity, and an already crowded curriculum, many schools will
take the opportunity to hit the delete button on ICT as a separate subject and
attempt to integrate it into other subjects - thus freeing up a couple of
periods per week in Year 7 and 8, which will then be 'up for grabs' by other
KLA's. Being a small learning area (3 teachers at BSC) we will
rarely have the 'numbers' in the vote that may or may not take place (in our
school it will be a decision made by the principal). And sometimes these
school based decisions are not made on educational merits alone, but are more
influenced by peoples' personal agendas, which members of staff are on
the committee that makes the decision, the lobbying by some and the
personalities of the lobbiers. It's all a matter of politics really! I have
seen this happen numerous times in my years of teaching.</FONT></DIV></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr> </DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr><FONT face=Arial size=2>In the previous emails to these lists
which describe the experiences of other schools who have already tried to
integrate ICT, the ICT teachers were overwhelmingly disappointed in the
outcome. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT><BR><FONT face=Arial size=2>The
standards that each student must attain are in the VELS documentation, but who
will be following this up to make sure that these standards are met? Will the
VELS watch dogs be at every school to make sure that ICT skills are being
learned? What will happen in a couple of years time once Maths or SOSE have
gained these extra periods each week - will the ICT component of their course
eventually be watered down to the bare minimum, or even less? </FONT></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr><FONT face=Arial size=2>And how can an English, SOSE, Maths or
Science teacher with little or no interest in ICT (and perhaps little or no
ICT knowledge or skills) replace an enthusiastic ICT teacher who has the
knowledge, interest and the experience teaching these skills? I am sorry but I
see ICT skills as being much more relevant to today's students than, for
example - what food ancient egyptians ate or what they wore (the subject
of a Year 7 history assignment that consumed many hours of cutting out,
colouring in, and drawing pictures that my daughter had to
complete)</FONT></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr> </DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr><FONT face=Arial size=2>As an aside - I did a brief 'hands
up' survey earlier this week of two year 8 classes on "What is your favourite
subject?" Only 3 subjects got a guernsey - ICT, Sport and Art - with the
overwhelming majority choosing ICT. (They have studied databases, web design,
flash and image manipulation this semester - all of which has been put into
the context of real world and relevant situations - thanks Greg Bowden for
your text and CD ROM). Perhaps this is a reflection of my enthusiasm for the
subject (one would like to think so), perhaps it is because they are always so
engaged that there is never any misbehaviour (and one of these classes
has a number of 'difficult' students, which makes life rather tedious for the
other 'good' kids), perhaps it is because they just love sitting at a
computer. How will the kids feel if you take ICT away and give them an extra
period of say, Maths and SOSE each week?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr> </DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr><FONT face=Arial size=2>So I continue to ask "Has VELS got it
wrong?" (By even considering giving schools a chance to integrate ICT across
the curriculum) And I still strongly believe that ICT should be up there with
the big four (English, SOSE, Maths, Science). And I don't believe that it can
be successfully integrated across the curriculum. It should not be considered
just as a tool to be used in other areas of learning - as in</FONT></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV dir=ltr><FONT face=Arial size=2>"...students will <B><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">apply </SPAN></B>ICT knowledge and skills
to:</DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal dir=ltr
style="MARGIN-LEFT: 11.35pt; TEXT-INDENT: -11.35pt"><FONT face=Symbol
size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Symbol">·<FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=1><SPAN
style="FONT: 7pt 'Times New Roman'">
</SPAN></FONT></SPAN></FONT><SPAN dir=ltr><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">develop understandings (ICT
for visualising thinking)</SPAN></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal dir=ltr
style="MARGIN-LEFT: 11.35pt; TEXT-INDENT: -11.35pt"><FONT face=Symbol
size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Symbol">·<FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=1><SPAN
style="FONT: 7pt 'Times New Roman'">
</SPAN></FONT></SPAN></FONT><SPAN dir=ltr><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">demonstrate understandings
(ICT for creating)</SPAN></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal dir=ltr
style="MARGIN-LEFT: 11.35pt; TEXT-INDENT: -11.35pt"><FONT face=Symbol
size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Symbol">·<FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=1><SPAN
style="FONT: 7pt 'Times New Roman'">
</SPAN></FONT></SPAN></FONT><SPAN dir=ltr><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">share understandings (ICT for
communicating)</SPAN></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal dir=ltr><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><U>in other areas of
learning</U>." (my
underlining)</SPAN></FONT></P></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE></FONT>
<DIV dir=ltr><FONT face=Arial size=2>Millions of people around the world
are employed in the ICT and related industries, compared to the number of
people employed in, for example, history or art related industries.
Yet history is considered important enough to warrant 3 periods per week for
one semester for 4 years, (about 240 periods) whereas ICT gets 2 periods per
week for 1.5 years, (about 100 periods) - and may lose this. ICT should
be considered as a learning area on its own; it should not just be considered
a tool to be used in other learning areas.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr><FONT face=Arial size=2>Sorry to bore you all - I feel quite
strongly about this. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr> </DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr><FONT face=Arial size=2>Keep smiling everyone - holidays are just
about upon us!</FONT></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr><FONT face=Arial size=2>Ros Meadows</FONT></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr><FONT face=Arial size=2>Bentleigh SC</FONT></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr><FONT face=Arial size=2>9579 1044</FONT></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr><A href="mailto:meadows.roslyn.m@edumail.vic.gov.au"><FONT
face=Arial size=2>meadows.roslyn.m@edumail.vic.gov.au</FONT></A></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr>
<HR tabIndex=-1>
</DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr><FONT face=Tahoma size=2><B>From:</B>
yr7-10it-bounces@edulists.com.au on behalf of Christophersen, Paula
P<BR><B>Sent:</B> Thu 23/06/2005 4:31 PM<BR><B>To:</B> IPM List; Year 7 - 10
Information Technology Teachers' Mailing List<BR><B>Subject:</B> [Yr7-10it]
ICT in the Essential Learning Standards<BR></FONT><BR></DIV>
<DIV>
<DIV class=Section1>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Dear colleagues</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"></SPAN></FONT> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Lately there has been some
discussion about the ‘interdisciplinary’ nature of the ICT domain and its
status in the Essential Learning Standards. Being a member of the
Interdisciplinary Learning strand does not preclude ICT from being offered as
a dedicated subject. Being interdisciplinary means that in their learning,
students will <B><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">apply </SPAN></B>ICT
knowledge and skills to:</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN-LEFT: 11.35pt; TEXT-INDENT: -11.35pt"><FONT
face=Symbol size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Symbol">·<FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=1><SPAN
style="FONT: 7pt 'Times New Roman'">
</SPAN></FONT></SPAN></FONT><SPAN dir=ltr><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">develop understandings (ICT for
visualising thinking)</SPAN></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN-LEFT: 11.35pt; TEXT-INDENT: -11.35pt"><FONT
face=Symbol size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Symbol">·<FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=1><SPAN
style="FONT: 7pt 'Times New Roman'">
</SPAN></FONT></SPAN></FONT><SPAN dir=ltr><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">demonstrate understandings (ICT
for creating)</SPAN></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN-LEFT: 11.35pt; TEXT-INDENT: -11.35pt"><FONT
face=Symbol size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Symbol">·<FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=1><SPAN
style="FONT: 7pt 'Times New Roman'">
</SPAN></FONT></SPAN></FONT><SPAN dir=ltr><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">share understandings (ICT for
communicating)</SPAN></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">in other areas of
learning.</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"></SPAN></FONT> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">How they actually <B><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">acquire </SPAN></B>these knowledge and skills is up
to the school. For example, the locus of learning may be in a dedicated ICT
subject where students would develop/acquire ICT knowledge and skills using
authentic data and information pertaining to other domains. OR, other schools
may construct a learning environment where the acquisition and application of
ICT knowledge and skills occurs in non-ICT classes. The choice is yours. The
Essential Learning Standards document does not mandate how students will
acquire the ICT knowledge and skills, but it does state the standards that
must be demonstrated at progressive levels of learning. </SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"></SPAN></FONT> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">I’m very happy to respond to any
queries you may have regarding this matter.</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"></SPAN></FONT> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Regards</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"> </SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Paula
Christophersen</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">ICT Curriculum
Manager</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">VCAA</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">41 St Andrews
Place</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">EAST MELBOURNE</SPAN></FONT><FONT
face=Arial size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">
3002</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">(03) 9651 4378</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"></SPAN></FONT> </P></DIV>
<P></P>
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