Handbook on Digital Learning for K-12 Schools, 2016
This chapter considers the current education policy context in Australia, including the high leve... more This chapter considers the current education policy context in Australia, including the high level of technology provision and use and an increasingly national approach to curriculum, teaching and assessment. It argues that to meet the first Professional Standard—“know students and how they learn”—teachers can be strongly supported by assessments conducted through technologies. The view of assessment in this case is not one of ranking and sorting, but a growth mindset, where teachers see their role as enabling learners to demonstrate growth over time. It describes elements of a Learning Assessment System to support this growth, and how technology assists teachers by providing feedback efficiently. It includes examples of schools working with researchers, government and industry to implement assessment tools that meet their needs. Finally it argues that while teachers must take a position regarding the purpose of assessment and play a role in the developments involving technology, the scope of the task is so great that it requires collaboration locally and globally.
Canadian Journal of Learning and Technology / La revue canadienne de l’apprentissage et de la technologie, 2009
This paper takes a large-scale social perspective in describing a national project in Australia t... more This paper takes a large-scale social perspective in describing a national project in Australia that was premised on local school communities working together and contributing ideas for the benefit of their students, and potentially, the whole country. The project was intended to improve schools’ capacity for educating boys, and in the long-term, the learning outcomes of under-performing boys, using evidence-based and action research methods. It was supported by the web spaces and tools of the National Quality Schooling Framework and Think.com. This paper emphasises the structures and processes teachers engaged in while building knowledge through their daily work, where the resulting ideas became the property of the whole community. Analyses focus on the extent to which an underlying social structure for knowledge building developed in various parts of the nation during the project, making it possible to characterize a process for innovations in education with commitment to continua...
Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 2010
This paper introduces the background to the JISC work within the e-portfolio domain in the UK and... more This paper introduces the background to the JISC work within the e-portfolio domain in the UK and presents an overview of past and current activities and the drivers for these developments. This is followed by a review of JISC's approach to drawing out the learning and implications for e-portfolio practice from this extensive collection of work and its dissemination. The analysis of twenty one recently funded projects involving the use of e-portfolios in the UK is introduced. The findings suggest that e-portfolio implementation is particularly complex in part due to the number of stakeholders involved, the contexts in which e-portfolios can be applied and the number of purposes they can have. This research suggests that there are threshold concepts related to e-portfolio implementation and that developing an understanding of effective practice is not straightforward. However a means of supporting this understanding is suggested.
This Becta study reported that e-portfolios benefit learning most when considered as part of a jo... more This Becta study reported that e-portfolios benefit learning most when considered as part of a joined-up approach, rather than as a discrete entity. The approach should include online repositories, planning and communication tools, and opportunities for both students and teachers to draw out and present e-portfolios at particular times and for particular purposes. There is then likely to be substantial impact on learning.
311 THE IMPORTANCE OF ACKNOWLEDGING LEARNING PROCESSES IN ASSESSING THE IMPACT OF EPORTFOLIOS Ang... more 311 THE IMPORTANCE OF ACKNOWLEDGING LEARNING PROCESSES IN ASSESSING THE IMPACT OF EPORTFOLIOS Angela Smallwood (Centre for International ePortfolio Development, The University of Nottingham) Elizabeth Hartnell-Young (Learning ...
Introduction ................................................................................... ... more Introduction ................................................................................... 3 Key Messages for schools ................................................................. 3 Participating schools........................................................................ 5 School policies ............................................................................... 6 Uses in specific subjects .................................................................. 7 Why teachers in this project decided to use mobile phones ................... 8 What happened when teachers and students used mobile phones in class9 How the experience affected attitudes and behaviour ......................... 13 How schools can introduce mobile phones into curriculum activities ..... 19 A new approach to policies ............................................................. 24 A note on our methods .................................................................. 25 Acknowledgements ...........
The quality and relevance of research is determined by those it affects, not just those who fund ... more The quality and relevance of research is determined by those it affects, not just those who fund it or engage in it. A communities of practice model can bring together these diverse interests to meet national and local needs. Practice, the social production of meaning, is the source of coherence of a community. The specific practice of educational research is building and testing knowledge, and through the learning process necessary for this practice, numerous communities emerge, with complex boundaries and peripheries depending on people’s roles, purposes and expertise. Communication technologies can facilitate communities of practice, so that online dialogue, rather than replacing personal contact, facilitates reflection and connections to other communities. Online environments appear to have potential as a means of increasing the involvement of stakeholders in devising the research agenda, conducting research and sharing the resulting knowledge. Online environments help counter t...
Accountability in education is often effected through mandated standards for curriculum, teacher ... more Accountability in education is often effected through mandated standards for curriculum, teacher performance and student outcomes at national or state levels, and this has increasingly occurred in Australia over the past decade. In order to make decisions regarding the achievement of these standards, evidence must be collected from sample sites or segments of the relevant populations. Funding is often linked to accountability, through reward mechanisms ‘after the event’ or through grants made a priori and requiring comprehensive reports. The evidence base is large-scale, but can lack detail. In conjunction with these levers for schools to act on current issues, their autonomy to make local decisions that assist them to meet the standards has been promoted, as policy makers recognise that local input not only increases the motivation of teachers, but allows them to contribute their contextual expertise to solve big problems. Since these problems generally focus on students’ needs, te...
... Exploring the use of electronic portfolios in international contexts Marja Kankaanranta Insti... more ... Exploring the use of electronic portfolios in international contexts Marja Kankaanranta Institute for Educational Research University of Jyväskylä Finland marja.kankaanranta@ktl.jyu.fi HelenBarrett University of Alaska Anchorage United States afhcb@UAA.ALASKA.EDU ...
Abstract: This paper reports on the progress of a research program based in Victoria, Australia, ... more Abstract: This paper reports on the progress of a research program based in Victoria, Australia, where teachers are strongly encouraged to integrate technology in their classrooms. The teachers in this study are generally positive in their view of the potential ...
Handbook on Digital Learning for K-12 Schools, 2016
This chapter considers the current education policy context in Australia, including the high leve... more This chapter considers the current education policy context in Australia, including the high level of technology provision and use and an increasingly national approach to curriculum, teaching and assessment. It argues that to meet the first Professional Standard—“know students and how they learn”—teachers can be strongly supported by assessments conducted through technologies. The view of assessment in this case is not one of ranking and sorting, but a growth mindset, where teachers see their role as enabling learners to demonstrate growth over time. It describes elements of a Learning Assessment System to support this growth, and how technology assists teachers by providing feedback efficiently. It includes examples of schools working with researchers, government and industry to implement assessment tools that meet their needs. Finally it argues that while teachers must take a position regarding the purpose of assessment and play a role in the developments involving technology, the scope of the task is so great that it requires collaboration locally and globally.
Canadian Journal of Learning and Technology / La revue canadienne de l’apprentissage et de la technologie, 2009
This paper takes a large-scale social perspective in describing a national project in Australia t... more This paper takes a large-scale social perspective in describing a national project in Australia that was premised on local school communities working together and contributing ideas for the benefit of their students, and potentially, the whole country. The project was intended to improve schools’ capacity for educating boys, and in the long-term, the learning outcomes of under-performing boys, using evidence-based and action research methods. It was supported by the web spaces and tools of the National Quality Schooling Framework and Think.com. This paper emphasises the structures and processes teachers engaged in while building knowledge through their daily work, where the resulting ideas became the property of the whole community. Analyses focus on the extent to which an underlying social structure for knowledge building developed in various parts of the nation during the project, making it possible to characterize a process for innovations in education with commitment to continua...
Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 2010
This paper introduces the background to the JISC work within the e-portfolio domain in the UK and... more This paper introduces the background to the JISC work within the e-portfolio domain in the UK and presents an overview of past and current activities and the drivers for these developments. This is followed by a review of JISC's approach to drawing out the learning and implications for e-portfolio practice from this extensive collection of work and its dissemination. The analysis of twenty one recently funded projects involving the use of e-portfolios in the UK is introduced. The findings suggest that e-portfolio implementation is particularly complex in part due to the number of stakeholders involved, the contexts in which e-portfolios can be applied and the number of purposes they can have. This research suggests that there are threshold concepts related to e-portfolio implementation and that developing an understanding of effective practice is not straightforward. However a means of supporting this understanding is suggested.
This Becta study reported that e-portfolios benefit learning most when considered as part of a jo... more This Becta study reported that e-portfolios benefit learning most when considered as part of a joined-up approach, rather than as a discrete entity. The approach should include online repositories, planning and communication tools, and opportunities for both students and teachers to draw out and present e-portfolios at particular times and for particular purposes. There is then likely to be substantial impact on learning.
311 THE IMPORTANCE OF ACKNOWLEDGING LEARNING PROCESSES IN ASSESSING THE IMPACT OF EPORTFOLIOS Ang... more 311 THE IMPORTANCE OF ACKNOWLEDGING LEARNING PROCESSES IN ASSESSING THE IMPACT OF EPORTFOLIOS Angela Smallwood (Centre for International ePortfolio Development, The University of Nottingham) Elizabeth Hartnell-Young (Learning ...
Introduction ................................................................................... ... more Introduction ................................................................................... 3 Key Messages for schools ................................................................. 3 Participating schools........................................................................ 5 School policies ............................................................................... 6 Uses in specific subjects .................................................................. 7 Why teachers in this project decided to use mobile phones ................... 8 What happened when teachers and students used mobile phones in class9 How the experience affected attitudes and behaviour ......................... 13 How schools can introduce mobile phones into curriculum activities ..... 19 A new approach to policies ............................................................. 24 A note on our methods .................................................................. 25 Acknowledgements ...........
The quality and relevance of research is determined by those it affects, not just those who fund ... more The quality and relevance of research is determined by those it affects, not just those who fund it or engage in it. A communities of practice model can bring together these diverse interests to meet national and local needs. Practice, the social production of meaning, is the source of coherence of a community. The specific practice of educational research is building and testing knowledge, and through the learning process necessary for this practice, numerous communities emerge, with complex boundaries and peripheries depending on people’s roles, purposes and expertise. Communication technologies can facilitate communities of practice, so that online dialogue, rather than replacing personal contact, facilitates reflection and connections to other communities. Online environments appear to have potential as a means of increasing the involvement of stakeholders in devising the research agenda, conducting research and sharing the resulting knowledge. Online environments help counter t...
Accountability in education is often effected through mandated standards for curriculum, teacher ... more Accountability in education is often effected through mandated standards for curriculum, teacher performance and student outcomes at national or state levels, and this has increasingly occurred in Australia over the past decade. In order to make decisions regarding the achievement of these standards, evidence must be collected from sample sites or segments of the relevant populations. Funding is often linked to accountability, through reward mechanisms ‘after the event’ or through grants made a priori and requiring comprehensive reports. The evidence base is large-scale, but can lack detail. In conjunction with these levers for schools to act on current issues, their autonomy to make local decisions that assist them to meet the standards has been promoted, as policy makers recognise that local input not only increases the motivation of teachers, but allows them to contribute their contextual expertise to solve big problems. Since these problems generally focus on students’ needs, te...
... Exploring the use of electronic portfolios in international contexts Marja Kankaanranta Insti... more ... Exploring the use of electronic portfolios in international contexts Marja Kankaanranta Institute for Educational Research University of Jyväskylä Finland marja.kankaanranta@ktl.jyu.fi HelenBarrett University of Alaska Anchorage United States afhcb@UAA.ALASKA.EDU ...
Abstract: This paper reports on the progress of a research program based in Victoria, Australia, ... more Abstract: This paper reports on the progress of a research program based in Victoria, Australia, where teachers are strongly encouraged to integrate technology in their classrooms. The teachers in this study are generally positive in their view of the potential ...
This chapter considers the current education policy context in Australia, including the high leve... more This chapter considers the current education policy context in Australia, including the high level of technology provision and use and an increasingly national approach to curriculum, teaching and assessment. It argues that to meet the first Professional Standard—“know students and how they learn”—teachers can be strongly supported by assessments conducted through technologies. The view of assessment in this case is not one of ranking and sorting, but a growth mindset, where teachers see their role as enabling learners to demonstrate growth over time. It describes elements of a Learning Assessment System to support this growth, and how technology assists teachers by providing feedback efficiently. It includes examples of schools working with researchers, government and industry to implement assessment tools that meet their needs. Finally it argues that while teachers must take a position regarding the purpose of assessment and play a role in the developments involving technology, the scope of the task is so great that it requires collaboration locally and globally.
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