Schoolnet completes a study on the use of Xbox Kinect to improve literacy scores – interesting findings…

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /><i>This report is given by Janet Thomson the Executive Director of SchoolNetSA in South Africa. The study used Microsoft Xbox Kinect gaming in a primary school in deep rural KwaZulu-Natal to investigate its effect on second language English Literacy. The results are extremely positive.  </i> <br />  <br /><h3 style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-weight: normal;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Findings of evaluation study released - 'Using gaming to improve second language English Literacy'</span></b></h3><h3 style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-weight: normal;"></h3><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Research findings have just been released from a year-long study conducted by Mindset Learn and Verbeeks Education Specialists that investigated the impact that gaming had in improving second language literacy in primary school classrooms in Lakeside Primary in rural KwaZulu Natal. SchoolNet SA was commissioned by Microsoft to install Xbox 360 Kinect technology in each of the Foundation Phase classrooms and to assist teachers to effectively integrate this techology into their lesson plans in order to improve literacy levels. The research supports the premise that the effective use of innovative technology can impact on literacy levels of learners. </span></span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5BzAFv2RN88mxLn3n_3RnfnEbkSvbVleQ3lwSkJ_rItP4RkXL0SKAwpoLq2kypLPXadnIcoWBlf4FRWpojkfKnHNlGwLFIuzCRGudxrWSmb35yjgCGyTDsK8DO68vZXeXg-ZCLivW2Q4/s1600-h/image%25255B2%25255D.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPFXiKbz-jbSYNGU_MsGsju0IvNYnP-XFVrlPu_biF_L-25Jo-89OoHTaL5MYS1pln1_pMsNIKnkb83BL9hWLzL6ehU0-1Ny9SXQSLG-xVBa_wshYM_DR3ZIfvzSjJQ-fzrEOvR34S9fs/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="291" /></a></div><br /><br /><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Over the December holidays of 2010, Microsoft commissioned SchoolNet to install six fifty-five inch television screens above the traditional chalkboards in six junior primary classrooms at Lakeside Park Primary in KwaZulu-Natal. These television screens were connected to the Xbox 360 Kinect gaming console. Teachers spent their January 2011 holidays becoming familiar with Kinect technology and devising learning experiences that were designed to engage learners and enhance learning.</span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM7B9dqJsv6q4vIS7T1DMH2UfAVGGbvYK_pxxhRCoM7eMfL68TwcB9nPfwsPvmdz8VKgiaHSJIseWyCTR5PSCk5huq-hYLW0Vg-HApM96EO18ouDY88GgyQyPVrWL9IgIDj5cDLAZOsXM/s1600-h/image%25255B8%25255D.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoCudwqM6OyEMRoZGPvhcADm5Jb7b3K99Yg99LefJ_B-7SJjiibfwjgTnwUYhTXoQGGJ1NmWAyzq_RBdwBluM1eq6ZCbShnti4YkdH22xY_xmWg4K9_Ly0vh-N4_tZK1qtpzHsDVZ7MwM/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="400" /></a></div><br /><br /><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Teacher training requirements</b></span></div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b> </b></span> </div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">This Microsoft Xbox pilot project called for the development of specialist training materials for Foundation Phase teachers to focus on second language English acquisition for use with new technologies of this genre. The teacher training workshop that SchoolNet conducted in January 2011 encouraged teachers to mediate learning in relation to the curriculum while learners would be using XBox Kinect gaming technology. Lakeside teachers had already mapped out their schemes of work for the following year so for 2011 the new activities had to be infused into existing lesson plans. The course materials for this workshop were developed by Peter de Lisle of Hliton College, a former winner in the Microsoft Innovative Teachers Forum competition, who deliberately focused on language supportive pedagogy and grounded this within a specific approach to education, the learner-centred approach, which is of particular relevance to gaming because it requires teachers to do the following:</span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span> </div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">1. Create environments in which learners are encouraged to discover and explore concepts and skills;<br /></span> </div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /><span style="font-size: small;">2. Adopt an approach which recognises the need for cognitive development, through encouraging thinking, problem solving, fantasy and creativity;<br /></span> </div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /><span style="font-size: small;">3. Accept that learners are all different, that they prefer a variety of ways of learning and expressing themselves, and that merely listening to the teacher does not work for many learners;<br /></span> </div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /><span style="font-size: small;">4. Develop ways for learners to be active, physically, cognitively and emotionally by creating activities that are fun, challenging and relevant to their lives in the real world outside of the classroom;<br /></span> </div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">5. Encourage motivation in learners through their own enthusiasm and involvement, and through creating activities which are naturally engaging.</span></div><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIOSTo6AGefde-yl2wfrS7F6lK_C3YlaqFbcrdqkaZbJY7zmwXUvYxn4NWaM7QNdijQpYTaak3iz6UNtw0jjZJiamGFtU8bjNfpU_P6sSGznVNMzU9JZuRr3YlYbzlZ5unqterVbG-qco/s1600-h/image%25255B5%25255D.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuTG4e8TaoLmvXhtZETdnC0KcE9cyoCMDmde4n3K_yRgqfyoH9EAPjh0oYiyRO4JACg2Yd0M1buPyolvmIAekAj392RkMmVQMPbYB05x1xukPLdhv55LXTmXyMDRItm1EOvWi1_wgGkrU/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="331" /></a></div><br /><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><br />Learning through play</b></span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span> </div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The dedicated teachers at Lakeside guided by their Deputy Head, Karen Kirsten and their Foundation Phase Head, Dian Ogle, readily addressed these challenges throughout the 2011 academic year and found numerous ways of enlivening the learning experiences that they developed for their classrooms. Teachers and senior management reported that learning through play is the most effective for this age group and that, “… <i>this learning increases their intrinsic and cognitive understanding of aspects of the curriculum. The use of this gaming technology has aroused their interest and it has energised the classroom atmosphere</i>.”<a href="file:///C:/Users/Fiona/Dropbox/1%29%20A%20SCHOOLNET/ADMIN/#_ftn1_6776" name="_ftnref1_6776">[1]</a></span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNUmg6PVRZ9_ys_9NBTJhas-9j-Dt2Vt8Xi4wYzJ4Oza5wKYQb0Q7twzz4sbuG_ZgAJztXBzyFjv1yh6UrxS9Em7IcdJlywSqbJZ_KoW7EwuCjSoR6XTqWAQuaV0yA1QLh2bbmTwNib7Q/s1600-h/image%25255B11%25255D.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuK3s1o7qDphS6s1cy-nod5Cw_CY3Lv7hfhU-GL8H3QGq7bsp4NrXpax4_QV8UB900p57SEL_d9_dRnpX6ATFMUfcZezluCohlxnEycCSiOuWpYUxI10Wjkpq6eapzMzDhlhYP1E9v_FY/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="301" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">The reason why this pilot project chose to focus on improving second language English literacy was because the use of English as the language of teaching and learning (LOTL) is problematic in South Africa, a country with eleven official languages where low levels of English language competence characterise many rural primary schools. SchoolNet SA was commissioned by Microsoft to test the hypothesis that English language skills of primary school learners could improve through exposure to English while using Xbox Kinect gaming technology.</span></span> <br /><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue',Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: large;">Language concerns at rural schools</span></span></b><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><br /><br /><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">There are two language concerns at Lakeside Primary. Firstly there is a dissimilarity </span><span style="font-size: small;">between the formal LOTL and the language used for social interaction. In contrast to formal language used in the classroom which in this school is English from Grade 1, the language used in the playground is isiZulu and this is mainly oral and informal. Secondly, and obviously, proficiency in formal cognitive academic language  takes longer to acquire than it does in informal social discourse.</span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWvlHhWWCaC2LEFDboGq3KrVvLxyx-60nrKcJGY25PHi1gW6qmCzetGFZuLx8ljd1Du2l26DqxNj4v_16vT0pjfQjJf6r9czy4drJhyphenhyphenFIXBSWfs99YiLMKR8z2XKx1XiAuXZKhnORtGMg/s1600-h/image%25255B14%25255D.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgJdYIq_h1QexRFt1myDs1cTCXyrb3jR1ip-zrlr1T7xX92DFWI22vq-CyBf3JiCYlW9Cj3k26EZ4szWfZtJPZwR9-apq4Yn9GbYWCzf-tG8-h-gW8mOGw5_Gpa8iCUTyB_pWb7wli5sQ/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="273" /></a></div><br /><br /><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue',Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Findings  </b></span></span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue',Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b> </b></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-size: small;">1. The evaluation for this project used a mixed method approach combining quantitive as well as qualitative instruments. One might be forgiven for assuming that the games played by learners could only affect their oral use of English and not impact on levels of reading or other literacies, especially as there is very little reading involved in the playing of most of the Kinect games. On the contrary the evaluators found that the reading age of all learners improved during the course of the year.<a href="file:///C:/Users/Fiona/Dropbox/1%29%20A%20SCHOOLNET/ADMIN/#_ftn2_6776" name="_ftnref2_6776">[2]</a></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"> While this might be expected the study surprisingly found that it was not only the language and literacy skills of learners that improved but numeracy levels as well as their understanding of general knowledge were reported as having also improved. </span><span style="font-size: small;">The study noted:</span></span> </div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> <i>“There is a marked change in the levels of competency of the foundation phase learners. A comparison between assessment aggregates of 2010 and 2011 shows that there is a distinct movement of learners away from Level 1 (Not Achieved). This concerns both numeracy and literacy irrespective of grade.” <a href="file:///C:/Users/Fiona/Dropbox/1%29%20A%20SCHOOLNET/ADMIN/#_ftn3_6776" name="_ftnref3_6776"><b>[3]</b></a></i></span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><b> </b></i></span> </div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Microsoft’s Xbox used at Lakeside Primary video</b></span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/qsZ-SYZtwos?rel=0" width="420"></iframe><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><br /><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">2</span><span style="font-size: small;">. Teachers who specialise in reading skills readily appreciate that the more opportunities learners have of hearing words and being able to sound them out aloud the more benefit there is for their actual reading skills. The evaluation report notes that some teachers who focused on phonics teaching at Lakeside were able to harness the potential of the technology, and noted that “increased word recognition filters into improved sentence structures which increases their self-confidence and eventually intensifies their willingness to read a book and join the library.” <a href="file:///C:/Users/Fiona/Dropbox/1%29%20A%20SCHOOLNET/ADMIN/#_ftn4_6776" name="_ftnref4_6776">[4]</a></span></div></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span>  <span style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span> </div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">3. The researchers documented another finding over and above the impact on literacy by reporting that an increase in general knowledge assisted the learners to “unlock the curriculum”. The study found an that an important additional benefit of the Xbox was <br /></span> </div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>“an increase of general knowledge of learners, a very crucial factor taking into account the socio-economic background and the limited access that most of these learners have concerning multi-media…. Through this improved general knowledge, learners gain a better grasp of what the content of the curriculum is trying to teach them.”<a href="file:///C:/Users/Fiona/Dropbox/1%29%20A%20SCHOOLNET/ADMIN/#_ftn5_6776" name="_ftnref5_6776"><b>[5]</b></a></i></span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><i><b><br /></b></i></span> </div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">4. The evaluation report further documents that teachers detailed “<i>the enthusiasm that learners were showing for the learning process, their eagerness to improve their general knowledge so that they could understand the context within which the curriculum was implemented.”<a href="file:///C:/Users/Fiona/Dropbox/1%29%20A%20SCHOOLNET/ADMIN/#_ftn6_6776" name="_ftnref6_6776"><b>[6]</b></a></i></span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><i><b><br /></b></i></span> </div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">5. Kinect allows learners to play a variety of sport, “edutainment” and instructive games using body movements and voice. Unlike other gaming consols such as the Nintendo Wii there are no remote controls with Kinect. Instead sensors replicate motions via an on-screen avatar – the player’s ‘mirror image’. Teachers had reported that learners, especially shy learners, normally take many months to speak even in their home language whereas while playing the Xbox games within a short period learners were calling out without inhibition - and in English. </span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span> </div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">6. If a school has connectivity then the Xbox Kinect console allows the TV screen to become a normal internet browser that can be used for an infinite range of activities of educational value. The cost of an Xbox and a TV is not high when one considers that six classrooms can be equipped with Xbox Kinect technology for the same cost or less than one traditional computer lab. </span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span> </div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">7. The evaluation study records an overall marked improvement in vocabulary which in turn impacted on comprehension and overal literacy skills, </span> </div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>“The incorporation of the XBOX within the literacy curriculum focuses on improving the vocabulary of the learners. Through this improvement, learners can express themselves better which results in an improved comprehension which in turn influences the grammar and the sentence structure of the learners.”<a href="file:///C:/Users/Fiona/Dropbox/1%29%20A%20SCHOOLNET/ADMIN/#_ftn7_6776" name="_ftnref7_6776"><b>[7]</b></a></i></span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><i><b><br /></b></i></span> </div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">8. At the end of 2011 there was an announcement that National Geographic, Microsoft and Sesame Street had partnered on creating specifically tailored episodes of <b><i>Kinect Nat Geo TV</i></b>, and <b><i>Kinect Sesame Street TV</i> </b>for Xbox Live. We are eagerly awaiting the arrival of these educational games in South Africa as we believe that they could further enhace the use of the Xbox as an educational tool.</span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span> </div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Further needs for this project</b></span> </div><br /><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">SchoolNet South Africa believes that a courageous and innovative funder could make a significant impact on the educational environment in some of the poorest and most under resourced primary schools in the country by sponsoring the scaling of this Xbox pilot project to other schools. The impact on teacher and learner morale is immeasurable.</span> </span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span> </div><hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" /><a href="file:///C:/Users/Fiona/Dropbox/1%29%20A%20SCHOOLNET/ADMIN/#_ftnref1_6776" name="_ftn1_6776">[1]</a> Mindset Learn and Verbeeks Education Specialists cc <b><i>Impact Evaluation Report</i></b> November 2011 <br /><a href="file:///C:/Users/Fiona/Dropbox/1%29%20A%20SCHOOLNET/ADMIN/#_ftnref2_6776" name="_ftn2_6776">[2]</a> Ibid p.6 and p.55 <br /><a href="file:///C:/Users/Fiona/Dropbox/1%29%20A%20SCHOOLNET/ADMIN/#_ftnref3_6776" name="_ftn3_6776">[3]</a> Ibid p.6 and p.55 <br /><a href="file:///C:/Users/Fiona/Dropbox/1%29%20A%20SCHOOLNET/ADMIN/#_ftnref4_6776" name="_ftn4_6776">[4]</a> Ibid p.32 <br /><a href="file:///C:/Users/Fiona/Dropbox/1%29%20A%20SCHOOLNET/ADMIN/#_ftnref5_6776" name="_ftn5_6776">[5]</a> Ibid p.7 <br /><a href="file:///C:/Users/Fiona/Dropbox/1%29%20A%20SCHOOLNET/ADMIN/#_ftnref6_6776" name="_ftn6_6776">[6]</a> Ibid. p.9 <br /><a href="file:///C:/Users/Fiona/Dropbox/1%29%20A%20SCHOOLNET/ADMIN/#_ftnref7_6776" name="_ftn7_6776">[7]</a> Ibid.p.50 </div>

case study Guest post Literacy Microsoft Schoolnet completes a study on the use of Xbox Kinect to improve literacy scores – interesting findings…

This report is given by Janet Thomson the Executive Director of SchoolNetSA in South Africa. The study used Microsoft Xbox Kinect gaming in a primary school in deep rural KwaZulu-Natal to investigate its effect on second language English Literacy. Th…

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Peer Coaching in Bloemfontein - transformational!

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Submitted by Fiona Beal</i><br />On Friday 21^st October and Saturday 22^nd October I was very privileged to be able to attend the last two sessions of Sarietjie Musgrave’s Peer Coaching workshop at the University of the Free State in Bloemfontein, South Africa. This was a large group of at least fifty teachers. Sarietjie was aided by Mrs Bouwie van der Walt. I was also able to visit Eunice High School in Bloemfontein for the day on Thursday 20th October to observe the benefits of the peer coaching programme on the school as a whole.  </span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXra8H3Jb10vR3CCBz-600ee67Iz7F0iw6WYyWCgjhbXSUDjBMhGcEzeiwFyYdsrfbtuMHfyS9_rbPJjWsXfcny-Itr_G6A5KiAnpI80r99hqhj1LZs5-83khuEGjdCbUWfsvPEK-F-xc/s1600/DSCF8118.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXra8H3Jb10vR3CCBz-600ee67Iz7F0iw6WYyWCgjhbXSUDjBMhGcEzeiwFyYdsrfbtuMHfyS9_rbPJjWsXfcny-Itr_G6A5KiAnpI80r99hqhj1LZs5-83khuEGjdCbUWfsvPEK-F-xc/s320/DSCF8118.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>What is Peer Coaching?</b></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="color: #4d4d4d; font-family: inherit;">Peer Coaching is a programme that was developed by Puget Sound Center for teaching learning and technology in the USA. Microsoft sponsors the Peer Coaching programme and its expansion into over 40 countries worldwide. Peer Coaching is incorporated into the Partners in Learning Programme.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4d4d4d;">In South Africa SchoolNet SA provides Master training for potential trainers and implements the Peer Coaching programme nationally. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4d4d4d; line-height: 18px;">Basically the programme is implanted over three years and each year two or three teachers from a school attend the course in 8 full day sessions over eight to nine months. Coaches learn good educational practice and how technology can complement learning. These new- found skills are then taken back to school to share with their colleagues. </span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 17px;">  </span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Who should attend?</span></b><br /><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></b><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #4d4d4d; font-family: inherit;">There is a set of criteria that should be used to identify peer coaches within a school. However schools use different ways of deciding who should attend the eight peer coaching sessions in a year. Eunice High School allows the teachers to volunteer for the course. Listen to what Mr Cassar says about his observations of Peer Coaching. He mentions how he allows them to volunteer for the programme. </span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" class="b-hbp-video b-uploaded" frameborder="0" height="266" id="BLOGGER-video-fbc5c389b1233d7b-1383" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" src="https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwZ2ZTjfe5GKyZjF--ilRqzq67kCGOaWeVfURM-5bmQl6l7kQrL_2dWzgues7Rw-8_jQYwU2VHS_zI4UHaK42mHTX37ej6L50vbCzTxhXlnsvi271Gs_ooU2GLfrzX_iC4LXFw" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" width="320"></iframe></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">What do the school principals think about the programme?</span></b><br /><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></b><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">The four principals I interviewed had nothing but positive comments to say about the programme. Three of them had accompanied their staff on the first occasion, which is required by the course, and then returned every time. Generally the principals I interviewed noticed that the staff that volunteered or were chosen for this course became more willing to share with others and as a result they themselves developed professionally. The peer coach teachers start to take the lead in the school’s initiatives and go beyond the four walls of their classrooms. It is a combination of what they learned at peer coaching plus their own willingness to share that causes them to stand out. The principals also noticed a growth in confidence in the teachers concerned.  The programme seemed to bring a new vibrance into the schools. Teachers at the schools no longer saw ICT as an enemy. They saw that ICT helps the teacher to teach more effectively.</span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf9sFskbzUVbL8LYKqJnDBenoJhY7LniSEjawj41LA96saj6NCURBNGEPvSR5Zkt2xKfA-yC75oHKfzbFAZFTbSNXj4opvnKuR42FMaJuG6g25bJ2G4fvpDX0GJQ4dcTeIrh-zqzE9X58/s1600/DSCF8096.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf9sFskbzUVbL8LYKqJnDBenoJhY7LniSEjawj41LA96saj6NCURBNGEPvSR5Zkt2xKfA-yC75oHKfzbFAZFTbSNXj4opvnKuR42FMaJuG6g25bJ2G4fvpDX0GJQ4dcTeIrh-zqzE9X58/s320/DSCF8096.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><div class="MsoNormal"></div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Did the teachers feel they had benefitted?</span></b><br /><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><div class="MsoNoSpacing"></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">I interviewed quite a few of the teachers and was quite taken with their positive view of the peer coaching programme:<br /><br />* This course helped them with their lesson planning and lesson design.<span class="apple-converted-space"><br /></span>*Teachers generally found the course very enriching. Lesson planning improved as well as the structure of the lesson and integrating it with technology. They discovered where to find more resources to draw from. <span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><br />*It helped them to stimulate higher order thinking by implementing problem-solving techniques and collaborative practices that motivated the learners.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh6RYo8zgb2q2J2S1_e8BgCtJhJCoJ4sG-2kliWLzlWCVvsgV9WPQE4IMfWthoe9shne04ZpqNIUhFmxcugFlHhpn9CI5OrTec6qCb-J9LP4G2QyRXTC34xrtFHGQGYxKili6bBfoz2k4/s1600/DSC02053.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh6RYo8zgb2q2J2S1_e8BgCtJhJCoJ4sG-2kliWLzlWCVvsgV9WPQE4IMfWthoe9shne04ZpqNIUhFmxcugFlHhpn9CI5OrTec6qCb-J9LP4G2QyRXTC34xrtFHGQGYxKili6bBfoz2k4/s320/DSC02053.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />*After being introduced to ways of gathering and finding information they learned to help others back at school. Before they came to peer coaching they tended to be selfish and do everything for themselves. They have since learned to share more with other teachers and make lessons more interesting for the learners at school.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><br />*The programme helped some of the teachers develop in confidence. They generally were excited to be able to take the things they had learned back to their schools.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><br />*Some noticed a growth in their own motivation. They found they had a lot to share with their colleagues at school. Some actually wanted to attend the peer coaching course because they had noticed the growth in other colleagues who had attended in previous years.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">*The way they asked questions in class back at school had changed, and the quality of the questions they asked in class had also changed. Even the learners asked better questions as a result. </span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">*The course seemed to open up a whole new world not only to the teachers but also to the learners. </span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYDo-XdzwTSG1slgQr7PN717_kuaMDQwlHee7Ky9M9AY9sEXrV5V_KkLoVsxqswbWs7GgkHCPUYicU3jKlKJ1yB0-90XyL4DhS8yoDjUNNbXN0vTEBUsWFeUG8MZcwCBTO2I3VXbKTsnw/s1600/dvd.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYDo-XdzwTSG1slgQr7PN717_kuaMDQwlHee7Ky9M9AY9sEXrV5V_KkLoVsxqswbWs7GgkHCPUYicU3jKlKJ1yB0-90XyL4DhS8yoDjUNNbXN0vTEBUsWFeUG8MZcwCBTO2I3VXbKTsnw/s320/dvd.JPG" width="240" /></span></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />*Collaboration was new to some of the teachers but the course took them out of their little islands and helped them to discuss more with one another. They learned to tap into what is available out there and share it informally without treading on any toes at school. They found they had lots to share with others and in fact looked out for things to share with others.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">*One of the teachers mentioned how peer coaching seems to surpass other forms of professional development as provided by the Department of Education. He described it as “magnificent in comparison”. It is user friendly and applicable, and can be implemented immediately. Peer coaching, he added, is a great confidence booster for a teacher.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">*Another of the teachers whose class I had been able to visit at Eunice spoke glowingly of the whole experience and how it had caused her to go on and experience more courses that SchoolNet had on offer. The brilliant work I observed in her classroom paid tribute to the obvious benefits of the programme. The highlight of her experience was to visit Lesotho with a group of peer coaches and share with the teachers there. </span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht85HO7AjOxQbYgdYkm0U_3O_3-MnfayppoUkCRz_9bwU39FqqU19rJE5_JHFRAuyu7BGIvltxha1DbluBZlYX8CHy1bEKVhNj7rVkcvfR4PRweyoTZ30mN-QQMq7TXkkQLLTYyvkYJoY/s1600/DSCF8034-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht85HO7AjOxQbYgdYkm0U_3O_3-MnfayppoUkCRz_9bwU39FqqU19rJE5_JHFRAuyu7BGIvltxha1DbluBZlYX8CHy1bEKVhNj7rVkcvfR4PRweyoTZ30mN-QQMq7TXkkQLLTYyvkYJoY/s320/DSCF8034-2.jpg" width="240" /></span></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><div class="MsoNoSpacing"></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">One of the principals summarized his observations of peer coaching over a span of time. He said that he noticed that in the long term the teachers concerned move further and further out of the confines of their classrooms and not only share with a wide group of people but also bring back so much <u><b>to</b></u> the school. The impact on the school and learners is enormous.</span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">A video of the experience</span></b><br /><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></b></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Here is a video summarising my peer coaching experience in Bloemfontein. </span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/uK0bnr4mYbM" width="420"></iframe></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">To end off Session 7 Sarietjie showed the teachers four different Microsoft tools – AutoCollage, Songsmith, Photostory 3 and Windows Live Moviemaker. They were asked to document their peer coaching journey in groups during Session 8 using one of these tools. Here are some of the final results.</span></div></div></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Photostories created by some of the groups</span></b><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">1) <b>Siphi, Lebohogang, Mpai and Lilian</b></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" class="b-hbp-video b-uploaded" frameborder="0" height="266" id="BLOGGER-video-fadc7b7bf1e366d0-18324" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" src="https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dy1oDznY-COHB9YIbFx9k1lsXsj4NtafwMwVT2cPz4g54tyA1bvz_428LYxpSHqf0KxEpsFmNjWBoJ8fCG3_vDBHIiRV5zyjbutVXFsmbY_hzCmxMjtp2ibmpahjg_26qTrltb9" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" width="320"></iframe></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">2) <b>Prisca, Roman and Smith</b></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" class="b-hbp-video b-uploaded" frameborder="0" height="266" id="BLOGGER-video-1236cbc4f14fef44-13701" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" src="https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwj0JllDFUubfIZtVUnjDWbApGv7BtULk8UOJGMKCWY1W3mDtYPH6DVns32TvX4bM2vdrBczfKWIn95_O89Ni37e6Kdoh_6K9Iiu3_YwfOAL8JbnwTWpZYI0yHOHxC4dO2doru0" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" width="320"></iframe></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">3) <b>Maritha, Nauda, Mavis and Ingrid</b></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" class="b-hbp-video b-uploaded" frameborder="0" height="266" id="BLOGGER-video-885a66df6436768a-9268" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" src="https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzmzMAoUoKy7kV-Lheb9Zbz8nvnuLWOMoNb35T8-1skRMVMx2v25vvvObicyiZ0qPfG1vNnEfFzbJRqFj9SiGVtUwmwOOeQXOlQBxoqSolX6REqMWvOo-4Hil35AJ6IuKKLYE0" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" width="320"></iframe></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">4) <b>Keneilwe, Danisele, Mphomotseng and Motlodi</b></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" class="b-hbp-video b-uploaded" frameborder="0" height="266" id="BLOGGER-video-037b5d0ec0f03a27-12273" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" src="https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dySFz2fvL7_lV_Ivh25SGJQ7YJy42DLdBS1NRJd1sue1vbrpR9hZe4L_Mf_cUrxrPGYri9PMkI3yyF8Yhu11HZRWWIQkeJwkXNVnYlHCFUmbQUOgH6NF2ucD8TASaVpNMWI0Kw6" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" width="320"></iframe></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">5) <b>Jacki, John and Isaac</b></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" class="b-hbp-video b-uploaded" frameborder="0" height="266" id="BLOGGER-video-d4f7682a012a1e97-6922" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" src="https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyivzu9tTl4Wj89qNB6zXuXHoa2hxi59aDqfNOF5JV9lffb2tSG6smhuILNI3CK_f_wmMzrVxJQK_3ohBWsFediptERmozG5vJ9IML6NPfbBNNuHrZrMOGCetZ2Cruh6ud_L5E" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" width="320"></iframe></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">6)  <b>Anthony, Thandi, Jonathon and Matladi</b></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" class="b-hbp-video b-uploaded" frameborder="0" height="266" id="BLOGGER-video-6456379ad16e2f27-4773" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" src="https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dy4d-uA3W2CoDYWlLLrHsQNRo_vfW4vqWu0op7aRoOAOiAli7iKGtZy0_Dgqoh8po9W8DTAYdG1xpBTFytGTnlJRSOKjrB8GlFDdS-52MtOL_KFT01ea753LFPYEiDkKiFGxnI" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" width="320"></iframe></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">As an onlooker I left these sessions wishing I had experienced the privilege of attending a full course as a teacher when still in the classroom. This programme really seems to be one of the answers to the South African education dilemma!</span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRte_zGD1d1SjF6c30xnSbP4Xr5uNB0R7pFCi4uoujLuQdgBXx7rqxY7dY16rGZ4IOvxt2IgvmZ1vCERB4_zDKM_AtFaLmPwpm6RgHM65DbkW7NHuCKre3mkvu-i1HpG8HFOYr7OJ9qm8/s1600/Peer+coaching+-+Bloem-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRte_zGD1d1SjF6c30xnSbP4Xr5uNB0R7pFCi4uoujLuQdgBXx7rqxY7dY16rGZ4IOvxt2IgvmZ1vCERB4_zDKM_AtFaLmPwpm6RgHM65DbkW7NHuCKre3mkvu-i1HpG8HFOYr7OJ9qm8/s320/Peer+coaching+-+Bloem-2.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">SchoolNet wishes to thank Sareitjie Musgrave and the other peer coaching trainers around South Africa for the sterling job they are doing in training educators in this programme. </span></div></div></div>

case study Microsoft Training Peer Coaching in Bloemfontein - transformational!

Submitted by Fiona BealOn Friday 21st October and Saturday 22nd October I was very privileged to be able to attend the last two sessions of Sarietjie Musgrave’s Peer Coaching workshop at the University of the Free State in Bloemfontein, South Africa.…

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How are South African schools implementing technology integration?

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="MsoNormal"><em><span style="background-color: white; color: #4d4d4d; line-height: 115%;">Every now and then we will feature a post about a school that is taking brave steps in that direction.  Today’s post is a guest post written by Arthur Preston, Headmaster at <a href="http://www.lannerhouse.co.za/site/home">Lanner House</a>, a private co-ed school in Worcester. He is a passionate educator and school leader who is determined to see schools learn to utilise social media and technology in better ways inside and outside the classroom. Arthur writes a blog called <a href="http://headthoughts.co.za/">Headthoughts</a>. His school uses Twitter and Facebook. He is also a co-founder of <a href="http://www.edtechconf.co.za/">EdtechConf</a> which is an organization that assists schools in holding seminars and workshops in the use of educational technology.  </span></em></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-ZA" style="background-color: white; color: #4d4d4d;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br />Lanner House (Worcester) - from computer lab to classroom</span></span></b></div><br /><div class="standard" style="margin: 0in; mso-line-height-alt: 6.6pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #4d4d4d;">Back in 2008 our computer lab was filled with 10-year old machines which, quite frankly, had been neglected and were no longer fit for proper ICT instruction. In 2009 our pupils raised money through a project we entitled “A Time For Change” and by collecting R5 coins managed to raise enough funding to set up an entire computer lab complete with flat screen monitors and new CPUs – no small feat for a school of 120 pupils!</span></div><br /><div class="standard" style="margin: 0in; mso-line-height-alt: 6.6pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #4d4d4d;">We have never had a specialist ICT teacher and we recognised the need for our pupils to learn ICT skills. Classroom teachers did not feel they were properly equipped to teach ICT and so I ended up as the ICT teacher. Our pupils learnt basic HTML, keyboard skills, blogging, wiki building and so on. As the months wore on I became increasingly unsettled about the status quo. On reflection I realised there were two main reasons for this :</span></div><br /><div class="standard" style="margin: 0in; mso-line-height-alt: 6.6pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span lang="EN-ZA" style="background-color: white; color: #4d4d4d;">1)</span><span lang="EN-ZA" style="background-color: white; color: #4d4d4d;"> </span><span lang="EN-ZA" style="background-color: white; color: #4d4d4d;">So much of what I was doing with the pupils had obvious application in various learning areas and was cross-curricular in nature. However I was operating in isolation from the class teachers.</span></div><br /><div class="standard" style="margin: 0in; mso-line-height-alt: 6.6pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span lang="EN-ZA" style="background-color: white; color: #4d4d4d;">2) </span><span lang="EN-ZA" style="background-color: white; color: #4d4d4d;">By keeping the teaching of ICT to myself I was robbing our teachers of the opportunity to expand their professional skill set by embracing technology in their teaching practice.</span></div><br /><div class="standard" style="margin: 0in; mso-line-height-alt: 6.6pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #4d4d4d;">The question was how to equip our class teachers with the skills needed to begin to use technology in their lessons. They also needed to be exposed to the myriad tools online, many of which are free and quite easy to use. I mainly used three strategies to do this :</span></div><br /><div class="standard" style="margin: 0in; mso-line-height-alt: 6.6pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-ZA" style="background-color: white; color: #4d4d4d;">1)</span><span lang="EN-ZA" style="background-color: white; color: #4d4d4d;"> I</span><span lang="EN-ZA" style="background-color: white; color: #4d4d4d;"> developed a Lanner House staff website through which our teachers could access their school email, online class admin and so on. On the front page of this site I placed a widget showing the latest postings from a Diigo group (social bookmarking) I had set up for our teachers. I encouraged our teachers to join and contribute to this group. This kept new tools and websites visible to the teachers. <a href="http://lannerhousestaff.yolasite.com/">http://lannerhousestaff.yolasite.com/</a></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-ZA" style="background-color: white; color: #4d4d4d;"><br /></span></div></div><div class="standard" style="margin: 0in; mso-line-height-alt: 6.6pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span lang="EN-ZA" style="background-color: white; color: #4d4d4d;">2)</span><span lang="EN-ZA" style="background-color: white; color: #4d4d4d;"> </span><span lang="EN-ZA" style="background-color: white; color: #4d4d4d;">I offered staff workshops for those who wanted to learn more. These were optional and gave me a good idea who the people were who would be the Early Adopters.</span></div><div class="standard" style="margin: 0in; mso-line-height-alt: 6.6pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span lang="EN-ZA" style="background-color: white; color: #4d4d4d;">3)</span><span lang="EN-ZA" style="background-color: white; color: #4d4d4d;"> </span><span lang="EN-ZA" style="background-color: white; color: #4d4d4d;">I made it my business to speak regularly in casual conversation with the teachers about the use of technology in the classroom. This helped to keep the idea of tech integration active.</span><br /><span lang="EN-ZA" style="background-color: white; color: #4d4d4d;"></span></div><br /><br /><div class="standard" style="margin: 0in; mso-line-height-alt: 6.6pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #4d4d4d;">By the end of 2010 I was certain that the time was right for us to move the computers from the lab to each classroom. Early this year we took the plunge, arranged for the necessary network cabling to be installed and moved PCs to each classroom. All but three of our classrooms now have at least three internet-connected computers which may be accessed during the day. The remaining classrooms will be equipped during the first month of the 2012 school year. Our small classes, largest class is 15, make it possible for every child to have regular time on the computers.</span></div><br /><div class="standard" style="margin: 0in; mso-line-height-alt: 6.6pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"></div><div class="standard" style="margin: 0in; mso-line-height-alt: 6.6pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span lang="EN-ZA" style="background-color: white; color: #4d4d4d;">We sent a delegation to the inaugural EdTechConf conference in May of this year which exposed our teachers to some wonderful and exciting ideas for ICT integration in the curriculum. I have not made it compulsory to integrate technology into the curriculum this year but have encouraged the teachers to experiment with this and with classroom strategies which ensure the best use of this resource. 2012 will see the compulsory integration of ICT into various curriculum modules.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #4d4d4d;"></span></div><div class="standard" style="margin: 0in; mso-line-height-alt: 6.6pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #4d4d4d;"><br />Although it is still early days I have noticed the following consequences of our decision to move the computers into the classrooms :</span></div><br /><div class="standard" style="margin: 0in; mso-line-height-alt: 6.6pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #4d4d4d;">a) Teachers who had previously avoided ICT are now experimenting with integration of IT into their teaching, resulting in an “If she can do it, so can I!” ethos amongst the staff.</span></div><br /><div class="standard" style="margin: 0in; mso-line-height-alt: 6.6pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #4d4d4d;">b) There are no longer timetable conflicts which result from having one venue in which computers are situated.</span></div><br /><div class="standard" style="margin: 0in; mso-line-height-alt: 6.6pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #4d4d4d;">c) Teachers have begun to experiment with different teaching strategies in their classrooms now that <span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>they have immediate and easy access to computers.</span></div><br /><div class="standard" style="margin: 0in; mso-line-height-alt: 6.6pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #4d4d4d;">d) Three of our teachers have now set up class websites, two have begun e-pal correspondence programs with schools (both local and overseas), one has her pupils using glogster and there is an overwhelming acceptance that we have turned a corner with our use of technology in the curriculum. This is accompanied by a general sense of excitement and wonder as teachers begin to realise that embracing technology in their teaching practice is neither scary nor difficult.</span></div><br /><div class="standard" style="margin: 0in; mso-line-height-alt: 6.6pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #4d4d4d;">Our computer network is simple, our resources limited and yet we are moving into a reality which was unthinkable even four years ago. Our decision to move computers into classrooms has helped move our school towards becoming a true 21^st<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>century learning environment. There is of course much more in becoming a 21^st<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>century school than simply moving computers but it has moved us closer to that goal. If we had more financial resources at our disposal we may consider moving into a one-laptop-per-child scenario or beginning a project which equips each classroom with an iPad-bank. However I believe that we have made a necessary and important adjustment to our curriculum and teaching practice by abolishing the formal computer lab.</span></div><br /><div class="standard" style="margin: 0in; mso-line-height-alt: 6.6pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsaXEu3fTVs7nA1N-fr59S3RVtzKWZJ12XeEoxpl_cY1bAnZY6wLC0lnlQvgv-6hx6g2szxDwEpq1sUCGnFwolHhZC2cgTvnxrj-LZq1NCVbFi1f-uQpRT7KwD4mPMeCx2kPes5CtYYUA/s1600/Grade+3s+at+work.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" naa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsaXEu3fTVs7nA1N-fr59S3RVtzKWZJ12XeEoxpl_cY1bAnZY6wLC0lnlQvgv-6hx6g2szxDwEpq1sUCGnFwolHhZC2cgTvnxrj-LZq1NCVbFi1f-uQpRT7KwD4mPMeCx2kPes5CtYYUA/s400/Grade+3s+at+work.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="border: currentColor;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #4d4d4d;"><br />We have noticed that children who are not exposed to computers at home learn how to type and use the mouse as they participate in ICT-linked class activities. The teacher facilitates the learning and skill development. The use of spreadsheets, databases, word processors and so on becomes an outcome of the task set by the teacher in a particular learning area and those pupils who are not proficient have an incentive for skill development and their teacher assists them in learning that particular skill. With computers in the classroom, pupils needing extra assistance may work on the computers at times other than the official “Computer Lesson” time ensuring maximum exposure to IT skill development.</span></div></div><div style="border: currentColor;"><br /></div><div class="standard" style="margin: 0in; mso-line-height-alt: 6.6pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><div style="border: currentColor;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #4d4d4d;">Is there place for a computer lab in a primary school? I know there will be those who disagree vehemently with me because of the particular circumstances of their school, but I believe that we need to be equipping classrooms with computers, training teachers in their use and making the integration of technology into the curriculum compulsory. The abolition of the computer lab may be a process which takes several years but I believe the computer lab as we know it today, is (and perhaps should be) an endangered species.</span></div></div><div style="border: currentColor;"><br /></div><div class="standard" style="margin: 0in; mso-line-height-alt: 6.6pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><br /></div></div>

case study Guest post schools How are South African schools implementing technology integration?

Every now and then we will feature a post about a school that is taking brave steps in that direction.  Today’s post is a guest post written by Arthur Preston, Headmaster at Lanner House, a private co-ed school in Worcester. He is a passionate educat…

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