[Year 12 IPM] An Invitation to Lurkers

Fri Nov 11 11:11:22 EST 2005

Thanks Mark, 

WE (ie ICT Teachers) are all aware that VELS does not preclude IT being taught as a stand alone subject, BUT many (including our principal) see VELS as an opportunity to 'integrate' (my principal's word) IT into other subjects. 

There has been alot of discussion about this issue - on the Year 7-10 list maybe (I am a member of all the lists so often don't notice which list is talking)

Anyway - I guess the gist of my comment in my previous email was that perhaps if we had known there were so many of us, perhaps if we had known that if the PE people could do it then why can't we, then perhaps we could have had the wording in VELS changed from
this does not preclude ICT being taught as a separate subject (sorry not an exact quote but that is the gist of it)
to
'ICT should still be taught as a separate subject' (or whatever)

In the meeting with our principal he said words to the effect that 'many principals I have spoken to are removing IT as a subject and integrating it'

The outcome of our meeting was that we must justify IT being retained as a separate subject. No other KLA has to do this.

Ros Meadows
Bentleigh SC
9579 1044
meadows.roslyn.m at edumail.vic.gov.au

"Furious activity is no substitute for understanding." H. H. Williams 

________________________________

From: ipm-bounces at edulists.com.au on behalf of Mark Kelly
Sent: Fri 11/11/2005 10:53 AM
To: Year 12 Information Technology Processing and Management Teachers'Mailing List
Subject: Re: [Year 12 IPM] An Invitation to Lurkers

Hi Ros

VELS, as far as I can tell, does not preclude IT being taught in its own
right, and I seem to remember Paula C reassuring us on this matter.

ICT will be incorporated into many disciplines, but it still needs to
exist in its own right.

Only a madman/madwoman* would assume that a teacher from any KLA can
teach IT.  People say that 'all teachers are English teachers' but would
you want a woodwork teacher teaching apostrophes to your kids?  That's
why there are specialist English teachers even when language skills are
applied across the curriculum.

Same with IT.  It will be used across the curriculum, but still needs
specialist teachers who know what they're doing.

I can relate horror stories of what non-IT teachers have told kids when
"helping" with IT questions.

e.g. "Listen everyone.  When you want to multiply in Excel, you do
this... =SUM(A4*4)"

and

"The easiest way to centre a heading is to press the TAB key a few times."

Anyway, which other learning area is going to teach programming or
networking etc?  It has to be IT.

*Feel free to quote me to your principal if he/she falls into this
category  :-)

Meadows, Roslyn M wrote:
> 552 active emails...mmm...starts me thinking...
> 
> We (the 3 IT staff plus our Net Admin) had a meeting with our principal this week re: the fate of separate IT classes under VELS (sorry to hark back to this folks) and I mentioned that when VELS was first shown to us at a staff meeting last year and all the PE staff went up in arms about the future of PE...and that meanwhile I was beginning to smoulder about where ICT had been placed (at least PE was at the top! ICT was at the bottom!) our principal mentioned that basically PE teachers had lobbied for it to be retained (and of course they had the strength of numbers and the Monaghetti (sp?) report)
> 
> Surely with 550 we can do the same to maintain the place of ICT in our curriculum as a separate subject? Maybe we need an equivalent of the Monaghetti report (the Krozian/Gesthuizen/Kelly report?) Any budding PhD's out there wishing to do their doctorate on how ICT needs to be taught as a separate subject?
> 
> Ros Meadows
> Bentleigh SC
> 9579 1044
> meadows.roslyn.m at edumail.vic.gov.au
> 
> "Furious activity is no substitute for understanding." H. H. Williams
>
> ________________________________
>
> From: ipm-bounces at edulists.com.au on behalf of Kevork Krozian
> Sent: Thu 11/10/2005 10:29 PM
> To: Year 12 Information Technology Processing and Management Teachers'MailingList
> Subject: Re: [Year 12 IPM] An Invitation to Lurkers
>
>
>
> Dear Mark and IPM teachers,
>
>   What a beautiful message !!
>
> Can I just say that apparently there are 552 active ( the messages do not
> bounce back to the server )  email addresses receiving IPM mailing list
> messages as at 10 Nov 2005.
>
> Scanning just this month's archives I see no more than about 35 different
> contributors posting a total of 86 messages in these 10 days. Considering
> the Everest for our toil throughout the year is the exam I am sure a few
> more of the 552 people have a comment, observation , complaint or compliment
> to make about the exam we just had.
>
> When so many teachers do join in the discussion, and when Mark bares his
> soul by sticking his neck out with full solutions and a review of the exam
> we have plenty to inspire us to join in.
>
> This list is for all IPM teachers and no one will be criticised for an
> honest and sincere ( or even funny ) contribution in the quest for the best
> possible outcomes for our students.
>
> Keep Well
> Kevork Krozian
> Mailing List Creator and Administrator
> kevork at edulists.com.au
> www.edulists.com.au
> Tel: 0419 356 034
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Mark Kelly" <kel at mckinnonsc.vic.edu.au>
> To: "Year 12 Information Technology Processing and Management
> Teachers'Mailing List" <ipm at edulists.com.au>
> Sent: Thursday, November 10, 2005 8:14 PM
> Subject: [Year 12 IPM] An Invitation to Lurkers
>
>
>
>>For all those of you IPM teachers lurking quietly in the lonely gloom of
>>your school, nervous about standing proudly in the light of the mailing
>>list and saying what's churning in your innards...
>>
>>Tear off your loincloth and proudly and loudly say what you think...
>>
>>This list is for all teachers of IPM. We like to hear new voices.  We seem
>>to be always hearing from the same old valuable voices, so it's nice to
>>hear new points of view.
>>
>>Be not afeared: I have never seen anyone embarrassed or abused here for
>>daring to speak his/her mind.  We're really QUITE nice. Well... most of us
>>are nice, if you exclude boisterous motorcyclists like Smee and me.
>>
>>Please feel free to share your opinions - even if you are new to IPM and
>>feeling fragile about giving opinions or asking for advice.
>>
>>The 2005 exam is the most popular topic at the moment, so please give us
>>your views.  No question or comment is dumb (except for mine - I have that
>>rare privilege here.)
>>
>>A loud and polyphonic voice goes to making us stronger and sexier*.
>>
>>If we all crow loud enough, the examiners may hear us!
>>
>>We may not change the world, but we may change the 2006 exam.  Let there
>>be no more QUESTION FIVES!
>>
>>Love and kisses
>>
>>Mark Kelly
>>
>>--
>>
>>* This may not be *strictly* true, but one can hope.
>>
>>--
>>Mark Kelly
>>Moderator: IPM Mailing List
>>

--
Mark Kelly
Manager - Information Systems
McKinnon Secondary College
McKinnon Rd McKinnon 3204, Victoria Australia
Phone +613 95780844  Fax +613 95789253
http://www.mckinnonsc.vic.edu.au
IPM Lecture notes: http://vceit.com
Moderator: IPM Mailing List

The future in IT is the next 30 seconds -- long-term planning is an hour
and a half.

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