SiMERR ACTIVITY PROPOSAL
(please provide a separate proposal for each activity)
HUB: TASMANIA
ACTIVITY NAME: Virtual Learning Objects in remote Tasmanian Schools Ver 2
ACTIVITY TEAM
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Name |
Role |
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Andrew Fluck |
Coordinator ICT, budget |
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Jane Watson |
Liaison Supervisor RA |
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Natalie Brown |
Preparation Ethics |
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Helen Bound |
General assistance |
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John Kenny |
General assistance |
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Howard Reeves |
Consultant for PD in schools |
START/FINISH DATES (you may wish to add a timeline of key tasks)
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September 1, 2006 December 30, 2006 (Term 3, 2006) or Term 1 2007 if necessary.
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ACTIVITY RATIONALE (briefly outline the proposed activity and its value to SiMERR)
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Two contexts come together as a foundation for this proposal. The Learning Federation has produced a large number of ICT-based Learning Objects for use across the curriculum in schools. These have been supplied to the state Education departments for distribution to schools. This has occurred, however with very little in the way of support for teachers. The Department of Education (DoE) in Tasmania has made initial efforts to increase accessibility to teachers and for example Mr Howard Reeves, former Principal Education Officer for Mathematics, has worked to provide on-line descriptions of the Learning Objects and has developed some lesson shells to facilitate implementation in mathematics classrooms. The second context is the existence of 10 schools in Tasmania defined to be Remote or Very Remote [Cape Barren Island Primary School, Flinders Island District High School, King Island District High School, Bicheno Primary School, Bruny Island District School, Mountain Heights School, Redpa Primary School, Strahan Primary School, Swansea Primary School, St Joseph's School]. Because these schools are relatively isolated from professional learning activities for teachers and hands-on experiences for students (e.g., trips to museums or science centres in Hobart, Launceston or Devonport), it is likely that they could gain from a concerted effort to introduce Learning Objects into their schools. The stimulating and interactive environments of the objects will supplement aspects of the usual classroom curriculum. The interest of SiMERR is particularly focussed on Learning Objects that are associated with topics in Science and Mathematics. |
ACTIVITY DESCRIPTION (please provide a more detailed description of the proposed activity)
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Procedure Starting in Term 3, 2006, the project will assist in the implementation of Learning Objects in up to 10 Remote and Very Remote schools in Tasmania. The project will provide the services of Howard Reeves to visit the schools for up to three days for each school, working with teachers and demonstrating the use of the Learning Objects with students. At least some relief will be provided to teachers over the three days for planning the integration of Objects into their classrooms. Preliminary work will ensure that the technology required for easy access of the Learning Objects is available in each school. In the case of the Department of Education, initial agreement has been reached that these remote and very remote schools will be pilots for trial implementation of a learning object local cache. [Howard Reeves was the Principal Education Officer for Mathematics in Tasmania and has been a consultant for the Learning Federation in the development of the Mathematics Learning Objects.] As outlined in the Evaluation section below, follow-up will take place through surveys and questionnaires with teachers and students, both in the short and long term. The following research questions will be addressed by the project: RQ1: Are the remote and very remote schools able to access the online learning objects on a consistent and reliable basis using local caches? RQ2: Do teachers believe online learning objects make a useful contribution to student learning in Science and Mathematics? RQ3: Over time, what impact do online learning objects make on student achievements of Mathematics and Science learning objectives? [Link with Peter Freebodys research] RQ4: What are good strategies for teachers to use to integrate online learning objects into classroom practice successfully?
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ACTIVITY DELIVERABLES AND OUTCOMES (what will be produced by the project?)
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The following school-based outcomes are envisaged.
The following reports are envisaged as outcomes of the project.
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ACTIVITY CONSTRAINTS AND RISKS (what are the constraints or risks that might impinge on the project and how will these issues be addressed?)
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Time to complete in Term 3, 2006. Could extend to Term 1, 2007.
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INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY (describe any existing IP that will be brought to the project)
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The Learning Objects produced for use nationally by the Learning Federation.
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EVALUATION PROCESSES (describe how the activity will be evaluated)
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The project will follow up on the use of the Learning Objects after their introduction with detailed evaluation. This will include:
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DISSEMINATION (describe how the activity outcomes will be communicated)
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As noted above the following reports are envisaged as outcomes of the project.
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ACTIVITY BUDGET (provide broad expenditure details of the proposed activity and any non-SiMERR sources of funding)
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Budget
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Hub Coordinator: ..Date: ...
The Schools
Very remote
Cape Barren Island Primary School
Flinders Island District High School
King Island District High School
Remote
Bicheno Primary School James Street Bicheno
Bruny Island District School 15 School Road Alonnah, Bruny Island
Mountain Heights School 81 Conlan Street Queenstown
Redpa Primary School Ra 68 Comeback Road Redpa
Strahan Primary School Bay Street Strahan
Swansea Primary School Franklin Street Swansea
St Joseph'S School Orr St Queenstown