I share here some of the discussion for the information of other educators.  Undoubtedly there will continue to be two viewpoints amongst educators on this issue, similar to those expressed by Shane and Jonathan.

Shane Roberts:

Why would one need to specifically teach their students (and other staff) togo beyond the realms of EQ.  I’m not saying there isn’t relevant stuff out there beyond EQ, but setting out to send students and staff beyond EQ as the first option is not safe practice.

As stated, there is relevant stuff out there, but purposely promoting
external services equivalent to services offered by your organisation is not safe practice.  Ever been to a Telstra store for them to promote another carrier?

My main point of the first email was to outline the services available to EQteachers.  This was not an effort to single out Qld state / public teachers and I apologise if anyone else on this list feels marginalised by this conversation but the initial email was targetted to EQ teachers.

If one takes the time to explore Learning Place, BlackBoard, Voicethread, iConnect (Elluminate), and Curriculum Exchange they will be amazed at the functionality and resources they have access to.

And finally, we (EQ) teachers need to restrict publishing of student work to
public places to ensure student safety.  It is all about providing a safe
environment equitably for thousands of teachers and hundreds of thousands of students in an EQ location.  This is no different to any other learning environment needing to be safe.  As a HPE teacher I know students at some stage may swim in the surf.  This does not mean I teach them there.  I would love to be able to have open access, but as an employee of EQ I don’t, and it is therefore my responsibility to ensure I follow policy and expectations.

Something else to consider is that any work we produce is owned by EQ, not personally by us.  Therefore decision to host outside of EQ services cannot be a decision made by an individual teacher.  Its also important to note
that we do not own student work either, and requiring them to host outside EQ services is fraught with danger in my opinion.  Now this generally gets the back up of many people but it is true – the work is owned by EQ therefore they control copyright.

Jonathan Clark:

OK. How about this scenario?…

/You’re organising a Travel Buddy project with a teacher in the USA.
That teacher says, “Great. I am excited about this. I am going to make a
web site where we can place pictures, conversations and things we learn from our Travel Buddy exchange.” The teacher sets up the site, but of course it’s blocked in EQ so can’t be shared with the class.

“OK,” says you, “I’ll build the site in Blackboard (ie within the EQ
System).”
/
On the surface this seems OK. But the issues I have are:

a. It takes away the initiative the teacher from the USA showed. I have
to say to her, “I can’t use your site, but you can use mine (if I set
you up access).”
b. It means that I have to do that work. It’s harder to share the load.
c. It smacks of arrogance. “OK. We can collaborate, but you have to do
it in OUR system, as we are not allowed to use your system as our
department views others’ systems as inferior (and unsafe).”

This scenario is happening to me right now.

So, in answer to Shane’s question: Because I want to collaborate on a
legitimate and valuable educational project with a teacher outside the
EQ system (and indeed outside my country).

BTW How many real problems were created in the past from all those
online curriculum projects we designed, built and participated in well
before our education systems started building their own online facilities?

Margaret Lloyd, Ph D:

Thank you to all contributors to this conversation thus far – the postings have given us a glimpse at the complexity of the whole issue.

My first response is to be concerned about the oz-Teachernet projects and their future in Queensland state schools. But this is something I will follow up off-line with the Learning Place. I am hoping that our projects – and we’ve just launched Land Yachts for the third time – are going to be seen as OK. We do spend considerable time and effort to make our spaces ’safe’ and ***touch wood*** have had no incidents of inappropriate behaviour from teachers or students in the 15 years we’ve been running online projects.  We don’t charge anyone anything – and never have. We think we are running these projects for the ‘right’ reasons and putting some real power into the hands of kids and teachers. Although similarly based in Queensland, we don’t see ourselves in opposition to the Learning Place. We see them as complementary.

Having said that, I do understand why EQ, or in fact, any system does what they do to protect the kids in their care. It would be irresponsible to allow Web 2.0 into schools and not put any boundaries on its use. I have this feeling that an equilibrium will one day be found between care and access. All systems need to begin with rules and tight parameters that start to be relaxed as people feel their way with what they can and can’t do, or should and shouldn’t do. Having said that, I am prepared to put up a fight to continue to have EQ schools take part in oz-Teachernet projects. Last year, Land Yachts had 400 kids in all states of Australia taking part. None of us would do anything to put any one of those kids at risk.

Andrew Westerman:

In EQ, the Learning Place provides a location for parents and schools to
set up booking timetables for interviews via The Learning Place. This is
secure. Frankly, I would have thought a system based on email would have
been sufficient or better, but the facility is there if EQ schools want it.

The Learning Place also offer blogs (to refer to Marie’s query). While
Global Student may provide a more attractive interface, the
functionality is the same. But security is guaranteed with the LP.

As a teacher, I cannot be sure who runs or works for Global Student.
This means I am exposing my children to potential threats by using it.
Most teachers can see the possibilities for breach of duty of care in
that, especially if the blog is very personal (as we hope some will be).

Michael:

“Why would one need to specifically teach their students (and other staff) to go beyond the realms of EQ”

Because there is a big wide world out there that is inhabited by all the
students we teach on a daily basis, because every teacher has their own teaching style, preferences and needs, because teachers specifically (as a profession) are open and adventurous and like to try new things to see what works best in their classes (and every class dynamic is different), because teachers like to share and collaborate with teachers and classes all over the world. Or maybe we could just wrap Queensland in cotton wool, cut all the cables and pretend that there is not a world out there that our students need to be prepared for.

Jenni Fewtrell:

With Ed Qld’s revised Code of Conduct it looks like we may have to work
within the Learning Place for blogging and other collaborative projects.

Maybe with all of us working together to provide feedback about the
functionality of the LP. they will work on better usability for our younger students. For one, the multiple passwords to access LP is so difficult with any primary student.

We can only try….

Well said Jenni. 

A friend alerted me to this wonderful site which has ample games for all aged students. I’m going through finding new ones to use!  Visit Mr Gym, click on the left hand side for games and activities. Here there are numerous games – co-operative games, games for small spaces and many others

Groper: Students need to provide an email and the free report will be emailed to them.  The Career Interests Profiler takes approximately 20 minutes and involves rating your level of interest in a variety of activities, industries and occupations. 

Career Steer The career test which allows students to look at possible career choices.

Free Self Assessment Tools Online This site has several links, The Careers Interests  Game which allows students to match interests and skills with similar careers.  The Princeton Review Career Quiz: Students need to register free for a career profile.  They then complete a 24 question quiz which will match interests and work style with particular careers.

Back in time via PhotoPeach

Leicester is a city with a thriving ethnic minority community which makes up more than a third of Leicester’s population and continues to enrich city life.  I loved the Indian grocery shops that populated the main streets of Belgrave, along what is known as the Golden Mile – named after the unusually high number of traffic lights that line the street. Owing to the community that populates the area, it is no surprise that many fine traditional Asian restaurants are on offer the whole length of The Golden Mile, pulling in a large number of locals and visitors alike.

Belgrave Rd, Leicester

Returning to one’s home town can be an emotional experience.  I visited the primary school I attended which brought back many memories. I remembered the day my mother dropped me off at school as a five year old.  By the time I had left junior school at age 11, my mother had died.  The school buildings haven’t changed that much since I attended in the sixties (the school opened in 1930) and I remembered each of the classrooms, the hall and the playgrounds.  I was quite impressed with the ICT facilities, a computer lab, and the appearance of interactive white boards in each classroom.

I also visited a school of the future, Soar Valley College, only opened in June this year.  The facilities were  modern, spacious, inviting and impressive. What impressed me greatly was the fact that this is not just a school but a community facility.  Out of school hours, it can be used by members of the public and groups for learning, leisure and events such as weddings.

ipod

flip video camera

digital camera

portable dvd player

smartphone with all my contacts and loaded with satellite navigator

Web tools that I will be relying on include  vimeo video upload, photoshow and photopeach, skype and gmail to share and stay in touch.

What are your favourite tools when you travel?

Tate Kids is an amazing art site for kids.  It consists of:

My Ga

llery: upload your art and visit virtual galleries

Games: create an imaginary city and make a masterpiece in Tate Paint

Films: explore art through comical characters

Tate Create: lots of ideas for making art

The site also Includes coverage of online safety  and e-cards can be created.  Altogether a wonderful resource for the primary classroom.