Queanbeyan is in the south eastern section of the state of New South Wales. It is on the border of the Australian Capital Territory, where the capital of Australia, Canberra is situated.
Queanbeyan Public School was established in 1864. It has a school population of 775 and includes Special education and teaching students via Distance Education
Queanbeyan is an Aboriginal word meaning 'clear waters'. We celebrate Aboriginal culture.
We collaborate with our community to create a safe and inclusive environment that encourages respectful, responsible and resilient learners.
Goal: To introduce Stage 2 and 3 staff (Years 3 - 6) to Micro:bits as a way of meeting the new syllabus outcomes in the Science and Technology Syllabus being introduced for mandatory implementation in 2019. Digital Technologies is a new area of the curriculum and education about these changes and how the outcomes can be met is required
16th October: Meeting with the Principal
This meeting informed the principal of my win in the competition and the goals. It is important that we train staff who are going on to Stage 2 and 3 in January, 2019. When entering the competition, the school was aiming to have staffing for 2019 released by October 26th. This means decisions about staffing had to be made.
(Note: This is where some of the delays occurred - 5 weeks after informing the principal about the need for staffing, the 2019 staff list was released and then staff were invited to the first meeting to receive the micro:bits to explore. By the 26th, it was obvious there was going to be a delay, but other training was in place. While micro:bits are a vital part, the staff had to have some familiarity with the new syllabus.)
22nd October: Science and Technology Preparation
An assistant principal and myself met to determine the best way forward to support staff with the transition to the new Science and Technology document. While there were not major shifts in the outcomes in most areas, the Digital Technology component was new and different. We discussed the best way forward - the staff meetings with an introduction to the new Syllabus, snippets of activities that may be used in the classroom to meet the new outcomes in the Digital Technology strand and a support document with links, websites, and pdfs that will support staff. There is also a Google folder that is shared to all staff containing support materials.
23rd October: Staff Meeting
A brief introduction at a staff meeting was provided to all staff to introduce them to the document, expectations and highlight significant changes. It was during this time we introduced an awareness activity concerning the differences between ICT capabilities and Digital Technologies. The feedback from this quick activity was awesome. It lead to some interesting discussions and built awareness in a quick but effective way with staff.
6th November: Student Exploration
Realising that there was a delay in the staffing information for 2019, I started Stage 3 students exploring the micro:bit.org website tutorials using the projects. The students had to be independent as they did this while I finished work with the remaining students (3D printing project!). What I loved was the collaboration between the students as they were required to problem solve, be resilient and persistent. The language and discussion was universal amongst all 6 classes that I see weekly for an hour - engagement, learning and thinking!
(Note: students have continued using the micro:bits over the past 3 weeks. We still have some issues with our network and using the sound parts of the program but overall the lessons and challenges posed as the activities have been extended, have been met with enthusiasm)
13th November: School Meeting - Sequencing presentation
The aim here was to demonstrate how easily digital technology outcomes can be integrated into other curriculum areas. We used small Lego models and asked teachers in pairs to give instructions to their partner to build an unknown model. The use of specific language, direction and order is not dissimilar to coding! Much fun was had.
14th November: Staffing for 2019 released
19th November: Introducing the micro:bits
What an awful time of year to ask staff to try something new - reports are due, everyone is preparing for new classes/classrooms, and staff are tired. Despite all that, we had 8 keen teachers learning about micro:bits. They were given a packet of goodies containing the micro:bit, and a card with links to the sites used for them to explore. As educators we have free access to a site called GROK learning that teaches micro:bit coding in both blocks and python. By asking teachers to use this site we will consider if the school will join - there are advantages as highlighted in the powerpoint presentation (converted to a video for this blog platform).
Just like the students, the staff were enthusiastic. Keen to try each of the platforms recommended and to see what this amazing device can do.
3rd December: Follow up staff meeting
Tomorrow morning before school, I am to see how staff are going with the micro:bits, start the conversation about linking the micro:bits to the digital technology outcomes, and demonstrate some of the extras I have purchased to start our journey into best practice. The aim is to have one further meeting to if required to support the learning with the devices.
Resources:
This is a work in progress and will be updated as resources become available. Staff will also have access to a shared Google Drive folder with downloaded resources as well.
Thanks for the opportunity to explore Micro:bits. It has been a wonderful journey!