Scotch Reports Issue 174 (April 2019)

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Online Platforms
Whether or not Moore’s Law (the doubling
of computer processing speed/power
every 18 months – 2 years) holds true,
it goes without saying that technology
advancement in education is an exciting
and rapidly developing space. Our students
use technologies such as robotics, 3D
printing, augmented reality, VR and
applications that weren’t readily available
to children in schools only ten years ago.
The constant evolution of technology keeps
us questioning our selection of digital
technologies and importantly, our purpose
in using it.
When drawing on technology as a learning
tool, teachers consider whether it is to
simply substitute for something that does
not require technology? An example of
this is word processing. Or is it to augment
a task, adding functional improvement,
such as using the tools in Google Maps to
calculate distance and time between two
locations on a map? Is the purpose of the
digital technology to modify a learning
experience? Students may be recording
their understanding of a concept with a
verbal explanation rather than undertaking
a ‘test’ and uploading it to the teacher.
Even better, digital technology can allow
teachers and students to redefine learning.
That is, using the technology to create
tasks previously inconceivable, such as a
virtual fieldtrip.
One of the most powerful uses of
technology is where we can use it
to improve (but not replace) human
connection. Over the past few years we
have been introducing the use of Seesaw,
a platform for student-driven digital
portfolios, across Mitcham Campus. Using
Seesaw, children share pictures and videos
with their parents and receive validation (in
the form of comments and feedback) for
the work that they share. Seesaw provides
a wider sense of audience for work as
children document their learning. It also
helps capture and celebrate the learning
process, not just the end result. Students
can use built-in audio recording and
drawing tools to reflect on what they have
learned or explain how they got an answer.
Further benefits of a digital portfolio
include the encouragement children get
from parent comments and the ability to
cross language barriers for families who
speak English as an additional language.
Through our staff Action in Learning
research, Seesaw has now been rolled
out across all year levels as a simple way
for teachers and students to create,
capture and share what's happening in the
classroom during the week.
When students reach the upper primary
years, they are also introduced to SEQTA,
an online Learning Management System
that is used up to Year 12 at Scotch. They
begin to upload assessments, which can be
seen at home, and receive some of their
teacher's feedback electronically.
In their final year at Mitcham Campus
students also join ‘Yammer’. Yammer is
a private platform for enterprise social
networking, run as a part of the Office
365 suite of tools. This closed and private
network gives our students meaningful,
guided and monitored experience in a
social media environment before they
reach 13 years of age – the minimum
age for signing up with social media
accounts, such as Instagram, Snapchat,
Facebook, et al. Teachers are assigned
to the Yammer groups that students join.
Our Year 6 Student Action Teams and
Student Leadership groups use Yammer
to plan, organise and run initiatives. It is
exciting to see them using this platform
in such a positive and productive way,
helping to shape their future social media
interactions.
IEVA HAMPSON
Head of Mitcham Campus
01 Year 2 Maths investigation shared on Seesaw
/ 02 Student initiative on Yammer / 03 Year Six
student leaders on 'Yammer' / 04 Sharing an
incursion with Year 1 families
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