tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-60220340981499516752026-02-07T19:22:49.471+11:00Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger198125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6022034098149951675.post-44453527238438982702020-02-01T14:34:00.001+11:002021-07-02T14:37:30.629+10:00

 I will no longer be regularly posting on this blog. I've decided to move mostly to LinkedIn so write my articles and share my ideas as it will be easier to distribute to my followers on those networks. I may from time to time write things here in the future, but I'd recommend linking up with me here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jharnwell/.

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6022034098149951675.post-15173633699599446462019-07-07T14:59:00.001+10:002021-07-02T14:34:32.709+10:00

The idea was a noble one, prohibit the sale of Alcohol in the United States and you can reduce crime, solve social problems and improve health among other worthy endeavours. Whilst there may have been a decline in the consumption of alcohol, the unintended side effects were disastrous, with a dramatic increase in organised crime and violence. Whilst prohibition may not have caused the increased

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6022034098149951675.post-19048807688351674102018-07-26T14:56:00.000+10:002019-07-11T14:56:35.495+10:00

When teachers enter the profession, they are interesting in helping students to learn, having an impact and because they love teaching and helping children develop. Why is that paperwork appears to be taking over our profession? A few statistics from the most recent ASCD Educational Leadership article - (Source: National Teacher and Principal Survey, National Center for Education Statistics)

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6022034098149951675.post-20766324425008748302017-12-11T16:39:00.001+11:002017-12-11T16:39:51.471+11:00

You can watch the full tutorial below to see how to setup OneNote for use with a class. In brief, it sets up a content library that the teacher can add to and the students can, a private space where teachers and students can work together and a collaboration space where the teacher and all students can work. I have used the Content Library quite heavily in my instructional process. I will

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6022034098149951675.post-4891656382662971052017-06-26T11:28:00.005+10:002017-06-26T11:29:26.389+10:00

Through a handy little web portal, you can quickly and easily lock down websites or hours of access to the internet for mobile devices or the home internet. Quick and easy to setup. It also includes Social Network Protection  which allows you to receive alerts if there is possible cyber-bullying, offensive language or contact with strangers. For more information, watch the quick video

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6022034098149951675.post-28414901700627306282017-04-10T19:33:00.000+10:002017-04-10T19:33:03.155+10:00

As reported by ABC News 24 (here), a new report has found that two-thirds of tertiary education students suffer high levels of stress. Is this a surprise? No! We have seen students in our Schools with increased stress, anxiety and depression. The responsible body - the NSW Board of Studies, then BOSTES, now NESA - has put into place a system where students who suffer from mental illnesses are

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6022034098149951675.post-73255943540591891272017-04-09T19:23:00.002+10:002017-04-09T19:23:20.837+10:00

The Hornsby Advocate has written an article questioning undemocratic Schools. Now, whilst I agree that student voice is important and can increase engagement the premise of the article is a bit wrong. Why should our school's be democratic? I see this as one of the biggest issues in education today. Educators are not respected by society, parents or students for the fact that they are

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6022034098149951675.post-29385462755822186792017-03-06T17:49:00.000+11:002017-03-06T17:49:02.717+11:00

NESA (The NSW Education Standards Authority) is fulfilling it's promise to conduct at-risk, random inspections. Last year, they promised inspection of 26 schools (18 government, 4 independent and 4 systemic) This year they have announced that they will only target 13 schools, looking at two main areas: Child protection, anti-bullying and complaints/grievances Quality of teaching and student

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6022034098149951675.post-39928680709755364602017-03-04T19:57:00.002+11:002017-03-04T19:57:37.880+11:00

It seems like a great idea, reduce student stress by reducing 'high stress, timed exams' and introducing a mandatory assignment for all students in many courses. There will be 'depth study' focus tasks in all Science courses, assignments in the Maths courses and multi-modal presentations in the English Courses. I can't even guess what the requirements will be for other courses as they are

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6022034098149951675.post-1024366491095727792017-02-16T21:03:00.002+11:002017-02-16T21:03:32.197+11:00

You've probably got a few of them sitting around your desk and have used them for various activities over time, but have you considered the power of the humble clipboard for assessment? To be able to adequately assess each student in the class, we need to see what they are doing - observation is still one of the best assessment strategies, because it allows us to delve deeper with each student

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6022034098149951675.post-48199276551141622572017-02-10T15:56:00.000+11:002017-02-10T15:56:14.423+11:00

A few days ago, I published an article on ICT tools to assist with assessment for learning. Here are some other techniques worth investigating that don't require ICT. Future posts will detail some of the benefits and cautions with using these techniques. Fist to Five Feedback or thumbs up, thumbs sideways, thumbs down - https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6022034098149951675.post-39976289957154523052017-02-08T15:54:00.000+11:002017-02-08T15:54:04.115+11:00

In working out whether the tools below will work for you, consider the following: What type of question would you ask students? When would this technique be appropriate to use? What is the benefit of this technique? Can this relate to the learning intention of the lesson? Here is a list of free ICT tools that can assist with assessment for learning. Future posts will touch

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6022034098149951675.post-75334577809676627892017-02-06T15:48:00.000+11:002017-02-06T15:48:04.961+11:00

There are many benefits to regularly quizzing students. What I mean by this is the 3-5 questions at the start of a lesson. This can be very beneficial to students in their learning as they can get regular feedback on their progress, the depth of their knowledge and if they have any misconceptions. This regular use of quizzes had been shown to reduce test anxiety (Agarwal, D'Antonio, Roediger

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6022034098149951675.post-52642350333779702902016-11-12T12:05:00.000+11:002016-11-12T12:12:52.528+11:00

Assessments are an opportunity for each student to show themselves and their teacher the wonderful things that they have learnt, understood and can now apply to a variety of questions. I know that when facing exams it may not quite seem like it (I just sat a 2 hour exam in some study that I am doing!) And yes, they also provide marks for reports and authorities. Playing the long-term

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6022034098149951675.post-78127678874719055282016-08-26T08:29:00.000+10:002016-08-26T08:29:00.639+10:00

Khan Academy has today announced that they have acquired Duck Duck Moose, a created of children's apps and they are now free. To see the full list of apps, visit the app store. My son has loved More Trucks for quite some time. Below are a few educational ones that I'll draw your attention to: Chatterpix (and Chatterpix Kids) allow simple creativity with photographs for children, such

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6022034098149951675.post-46677300583733147212016-08-21T21:42:00.000+10:002016-08-21T21:51:04.541+10:00

What's in a name change? So, the name is going to change. We have only had "BOSTES" for a few years (since 2014), with the merging of the "Board of Studies" and "Institute of Teachers" in NSW. At this time, the organisation went through a lengthy process of rebranding everything with their new 'orange books' logo. They are now turning around and putting more money into rebranding once again as

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6022034098149951675.post-66835288317268974732016-08-10T17:42:00.000+10:002016-08-10T17:42:07.110+10:00

There are some places where devices don't belong... and yes the dinner table is one of those! Let's strive for good relationships with our children by having deep conversation over dinner, rather than being 2 adults and 2 children co-habiting the same house!The argument 15 years ago was about watching television whilst at the dinner table, but it has become even harder now with the mobile phone

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6022034098149951675.post-11839090835547178492016-08-08T17:42:00.000+10:002016-08-08T17:42:01.990+10:00

 One of the myths is that every one of us is going to have to know algebra, geometry, trigonometry in the 21st century, because that’s the way a high-tech age is going. (Andrew Hacker) Algebra is a core component of Algebra in the US. Andrew Hacker argues that only 5% of the workforce uses Advanced Mathematics in the US, which is the incorrect starting point. It is not the content that is

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6022034098149951675.post-11397864520406437302016-08-06T17:54:00.000+10:002016-08-06T17:54:03.381+10:00

One of the significant aims of the reforms to the HSC that have now been released, was to reduce the stress and anxiety in our senior students. Do we know what causes the anxiety? I would argue that we have not thoroughly investigated the causes of the anxiety, much of which could be attributable to changes in society and family situations such as both parents working longer hours. If we

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6022034098149951675.post-40277914154731631592016-07-28T08:12:00.000+10:002016-07-28T08:12:00.151+10:00

Often we use a quiz, topic test or even an assessment task as an end point. How much have the students learnt? Have the students understood the content? We then quickly move on to the next dot point or the next unit. To compound this, students get their quiz back, see their mark and then make judgments about themselves as people "I did really well" "I'm good at this" or "I'm no good at school"

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6022034098149951675.post-20541720394627660482016-07-25T07:36:00.000+10:002016-07-25T07:36:01.366+10:00

Here is the test on the BOSTES Concerto Platform. What do you think of it? Leave your comments below. http://hscliteracynumeracy.bostes.nsw.edu.au/

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6022034098149951675.post-49134873474958699212016-07-23T09:27:00.000+10:002016-07-23T09:27:00.830+10:00

The SMH reports below that 'thousands of schools' will be impacted. YES! Everyone school in NSW teaching the BOSTES courses for the HSC will be affected by the changes. There is no need to sensationalise it with the 'thousands' impacted. Thousands of NSW school students will have a greater focus on the environment, Asia, and the role of women and Aboriginal leaders in shaping modern Australian

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6022034098149951675.post-33441190414311596932016-07-22T07:34:00.000+10:002016-07-22T07:34:00.878+10:00

My HSC: A guide to HSC reforms for students

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6022034098149951675.post-88259852994350995452016-07-22T07:15:00.000+10:002016-07-22T07:15:00.166+10:00

The English curriculum is undergoing a massive change, back to pre-2000 days moving away from feminism, nihilism and post-modernism to a close study of original texts, grammar and language. Whilst many English teachers love this more theoretical content (and opposition from the English Teachers' Association if likely), BOSTES has taken the position that it is not the best thing for the students.

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6022034098149951675.post-14899294361816200852016-07-21T19:07:00.000+10:002016-07-21T19:07:34.427+10:00

The SMH in this article on Tuesday reported that: The move is expected to heap pressure on students as young as 14... (SMH) With a Band 8 or better being awarded to most students above national minimum standard, this is a low benchmark (not high as BOSTES argues). By the time students, three years later, finish Year 12, they should not be labeled as "as minimum standard" for a Year 9

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0