[Year 12 IPM] ITA ("IPM 2007") summary

[Lawson, Margaret]

Apologies if I have offended, and I congratulate those that are
discussing this topic -  it needs to happen, we need to work through it
as a community.
---

I could have expressed my feelings in many other ways before heading out
to an afternoon of Athletics trials in 35 degree heat with no sun shade
...

How else ... get over it and grow up? ... you are professionals, deal
with it? ... if you don't like it, teach something different? Would this
have sounded better?

My take on the new study design is that I am going to get more from it
if I work with it and not against it. And my kids are going to respond
better to learning in my classrooms if I embrace the study design rather
than bag it. 

As for the IT slump issue, yes my school has the same problem as
elsewhere. So how about we hear about some strategies to get kids
involved. Computer/Multimedia Clubs, Guest Speakers, after school
workshops all designed to "hook" the kids and drag them in. One of the
consequences of many schools abandoning IT as a compulsory subject
taught by qualified people is that that most of their IT "integration"
and role modeling comes from teachers who don't want anything to do with
IT. So when it is offered as a subject, their experiences are not
exactly positive. Years ago David Dimsey send a "golden" post to the
list proposing that "English" as a subject should be integrated in the
same way as IT. After all, every teacher "teaches" English. Food for
thought. 

I would be more than HAPPY to convene a discussion (either on or
offline) to talk about ideas that we could use to get kids into IT as a
discipline.
Perhaps VITTA can organize a network meeting for IT Coordinators and/or
interested parties to talk about this issue over a glass of red. Or if
someone would like to name a day during the first week of the break, we
can then pick a venue.

On the topic of failing IT courses, take a good close look at those that
were cancelled and those that survived. The ones that have survived have
very much either been "old school" programming, multimedia,
computer/electrical engineering or Business/IT courses. Most of the
failed courses were subjects that they "sexed" up with no substance. The
Business/IT courses that have survived contain much of the content of
the new course: Knowledge Management, Virtual Teams, Databases,
Conventions, Networks, User Interfaces. There might not be many "new
topics" in the new ITA course, but there is certainly more scope to
study those topics in depth (or have I read it wrong?).

:)

Margaret (very sun burnt)