Curriculum Matters - Learning Technologies

BYOD

It is great to see so many devices being brought by students in the Torrens building. These devices support the learning sequence and allow students to research quickly and also begin digital work which they can continue beyond school.

We are at approximately 32% of students with their own devices, which is fantastic! We still have a range of devices available for all students to access. They may use their own iPad to create and a laptop to check email but these students are adept at choosing devices for different purposes and have developed some awesome skills.

eMail - Learn Link

During this term, all Year 3 students will receive a school email address (Learn Link) and it will be expected that students communicate with their teachers and peers for a range of reasons - including sharing digital work, homework emails and communicating with friends. Year 4 students should have email from last year and we will ensure that they can remember how to access their email.

We do not use G Mail or Hotmail accounts within school but some families have set up accounts for their child to use beyond school. This is not essential as the school account should be sufficient.

Google Apps Trial

During Term 1, a group of students have begun investigating Google Apps for Education. This suite of online applications has enabled these students to create presentations, work together on documents and create their own webpages. They even investigated collaborative learning online with Miss Harous in science.

Students have their own @lockleysnorth username and all documents, presentations and webpages are shared internally within the closed group of Lockleys North Primary School. If you are interested in viewing their websites, ask them to share with you!

The trial group has been hugely successful (initially with students who brought their own laptop) and we are ready to expand to a wider group. It does work best on a laptop but school owned devices can be used if your preferred BYOD is an iPad or other tablets. We have had some interest from parents and are happy to include your child within the expansion.

Email Mike.Tarleton884@schools.sa.edu.au if you wish your child to experience Google Apps for Education this term.

YouTube Education

We are currently investigating whether YouTube Education is something we can offer students. It allows staff to 'whitelist' suitable channels and particular YouTube clips without students seeing inappropriate advertisements and other suggested clips.

If YouTube is something that your child already uses independently at home, and you would like this to be approved at school, please email me with your child's name and class. These students will then be grouped so that only they can access YouTube Education. It opens up a vast amount of amazing educational clips to support learning. It is important to note that students with granted access would be expected to use YouTube Education within the classroom and under supervision of the class teacher.

Mike Tarleton

Learning Technologies Co-ordinator