Episode 29: Digital window to thre world Part 1 ft Bonnie Tratt & Stephanie Smith
Joachim Cohen:
Welcome to The Virtual Staffroom, a podcast made for teachers by teachers and all with a dash of educational technology thrown in. My name is Joachim Cohen and today, like every day, I'm joined by Yvette Poshoglian and Linda Lazenby, awesome members of our technology for learning team. Welcome to 2022, team, and everyone out there in podcast land, to our first episode of the year. We would like to begin by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land on which we are recording to today, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, and pay our respects to elders past and present, and also pay our respects to other traditional elders and other indigenous peoples on whose country or through whose country this broadcast will travel.
Joachim Cohen:
What an exciting year it's going to be, one we hope is infused with loads of technology for learning to engage, inspire, empower, and enable your students to make magic, build their futures, and grow their skills. We here at The Virtual Staffroom have been growing too, and we have decided with a new year, it's time to mix things up a little, as we start afresh. Gone are your 30-minute lessons and welcome to a series of Virtual Staffroom shorts that are going to pack a punch in 10 minutes or less, just enough for you to commute, for your recess break, or maybe the second half of lunch. Packed with an exciting interview, as well as tips and tricks to get you started in the classroom tomorrow, or maybe even today. Let's get this podcast started.
Yvette Poshoglian:
Have you ever taken your students on a virtual excursion or incursion? Perhaps you visited the Great Barrier Reef or the NASA launch station without even leaving your classroom? Well, in the next three podcasts, we're going to connect you with the people, the resources, and the hacks to bring the world to your classroom.
Joachim Cohen:
With so many schools adding in or considering adding in new main learning displays or interactive panels with cameras, speakers, and a connected PC to their classrooms, we wanted to help you make the most of this game-changing new technology.
Linda Lazenby:
And to do so, we are joined by virtual excursion coordinator and the amazing DART Learning website that many of you may have seen before, Bonnie Tratt. Welcome, Bonnie.
Bonnie Tratt:
Hi, Linda. Hi, Jo and Yvette. Thanks for having me. I'm very excited to be first off the rank.
Linda Lazenby:
Bonnie, can you tell our listeners that might not have heard of DART Learning what it's all about?
Bonnie Tratt:
Well, first of all, I'd like them to not feel like they're on their own, because so many teachers hadn't heard of us before last year. And to say that we've been around for 15 years, we did go through a name change last year and became DART Learning, instead of DART Connections. So prior to 2021, we probably had about 70 different content providers that used to list events and virtual excursions on the DART Learning website. Last year, we've gone from 70 content providers and probably about 100,000 students a year that did our events to 2021, where we had 123 content providers now, and we had 1.3 million. So we were seeing 100,000 students a week do our events in term three. So yeah, we've really sort of hit our straps.
Joachim Cohen:
Oh, my gosh. That just blows my mind to think of the number of students that have connected to these amazing virtual experiences, Bonnie. And I'm even more excited, because I heard your website has gone through a bit of a supercharge, and it's made it even easier for people to connect. Tell us all about it.
Bonnie Tratt:
Can you imagine, Jo, we've got so many events and providers now that really, our clients are the teachers. So we want to make sure that they can find things that are pertinent to them easily. So out of the 123 content providers who currently have about 3,150 virtual events listed, and that's from external content providers and internal. So we've really been looking at the resources available within the department to make sure that they're available. Teachers go to the DART Learning website and they can do a search on the curriculum that they're looking for, and get returns from outside providers and internal providers. So that's just making it a lot easier for them to find what they need, as well as find how they want to watch it, whether they want to be involved in the special live events that we have targeted around certain school term events.
Bonnie Tratt:
So it might be book week, it might be NAIDOC week, if they want to look under those particular events, or they can look via on demand, which means there's a resource available for them all the time, or they can even look via by request, which means they can contact the provider and say, look, I want an event at this date and this time, and they can get those resources as well. So there's different ways we list the virtual events, and there's different ways that they can actually search based on [inaudible 00:04:57] and based on a provider looking for, or just based on the curriculum itself.
Yvette Poshoglian:
Yeah. There's so many options there for teachers, Bonnie. And I really just suggest that teachers get on, have a look, have a play around, and actually explore what's available, because there is a smorgasbord out there, but some of those other on-demand options are really interesting too, to explore. Bonnie, look, what is happening this year? What are some of the highlights? What are some of the excursions coming up that you're really excited about?
Bonnie Tratt:
Well, if it's anything like last year, Yvette, it's going to be lots, isn't there? Book week, for example, last year we had 22 different authors doing virtual events for us. We also did the virtual week in Canberra, and that's going to be on again this year as well, with lots of new content providers from Canberra coming on board. They were really excited by the fact that there were 350,000 students that ended up doing those events. We're also looking, probably, ones we did last year were well-being week, which was more collaborations, which was one of the things that DART Learning really does. We try and do these collaborations with lots of different content providers.
Bonnie Tratt:
So right now, at the moment, we've got lots of careers coming up. And one that's been put on by Sydney Living Museums, called Life in the Past Stinks. So, that's term one. Did you want me to go onto term two as well, or?
Yvette Poshoglian:
I think that's a great place to start.
Joachim Cohen:
Absolutely. Oh, don't you love it? Because I know, usually when you're back in the classroom, you're struggling to find something to fill in for those really special weeks that pop up, and they pop up at the last minute, and you've got it sorted for everyone. That is just phenomenal, Bonnie. And I mean, we are going to actually chat to some of these providers. And over the next three episodes, we have got jam-packed full of connections with these people. Can you tell us, in today's episode, who are we going to connect with?
Bonnie Tratt:
Well, I think we're going to speak to Stephanie Smith. So she's a general manager of learning at the Museum of Australian Democracy. We did a great collaboration with them last year with the National Film and Sound Archive, called Media and Me, and they were also heavily involved in the virtual week in Canberra. So yeah, let's start with Stephanie.
Joachim Cohen:
Let's do it. Let's dial them in.
Yvette Poshoglian:
Welcome, Stephanie. It's a real pleasure to have you here in The Virtual Staffroom today. We have a quick and awesome mantra here at The Virtual Staffroom for this year, so we're going to get right into it. Over to you, Bonnie.
Bonnie Tratt:
Thanks, Yvette. So Steph, how about you tell us about your virtual experiences at the Museum of Australian Democracy?
Stephanie Smith:
So virtual excursions are a big part of what we do here at the Museum of Australian Democracy, because we are all about access, and we want to empower teachers and students around the country to be able to access the resources we have, and to be able to see the important place that young people have in our democracy, and start those conversations around student voice, and agency in the classroom. And so we do quite a lot in the digital space to support teachers and students, and so we have a range of digital excursions that we offer. We also offer a range of workshops, which is slightly different, because they have an interactive component with them. And we find that this is a great mix that ties into democracy, civics, and citizenship, but also grassroots activism in there as well. And so lots of options for teachers to tap into.
Linda Lazenby:
Fantastic. Stephanie, can you tell us, what's one aspect that everyone raves about in terms of your virtual experience?
Stephanie Smith:
I think something that we've taken away from our feedback from teachers is that they're a lot more comfortable with presenting in the digital space now. A number of states have spent a lot of time teaching online as well, and so something that we really reflected on and incorporated into our programs, into our workshops, was this idea of an interactive component. And we've had such great feedback around this. So in our Drawn Together program, we talk about political cartoons, but we also invite students to collaboratively create a cartoon with us, and then they have the opportunity to draw themselves. And so what we find is that through this scaffolded model, we're unpacking a really complex topic that is political cartooning, and giving teachers and students the steps so that they can successfully do it themselves in the classroom.
Joachim Cohen:
Oh, my gosh. Look, that is so exciting. What a topic, as well, to unpack. And I think you might have partially answered this one already, because I know when I like to do these virtual excursions, I like to get the class ready beforehand, and then afterwards, have something to continue on and keep that enthusiasm going. Do you incorporate pre and post-activities that teachers can take away and use with their students?
Stephanie Smith:
We absolutely do, because we feel that it's a conversation, and we don't want our digital excursions to sit in isolation. So we love giving teachers a little bit of information on our website so that they can prepare students for when they come, especially around some of the big questions. We are really passionate about asking students what issues they want to investigate. What are their passions? How do they want to change the world to make it a better place?
Stephanie Smith:
And that's such a really big, broad question. And so we love teachers to have the opportunity, before they jump into our digital experiences, to be able to start the thinking with students, to start that wondering. But it's also the conversation afterwards. So with a lot of our programs, like Drawn Together, and we have another one that's called You, Me and Sustainability, which is all about young people, their voice, and how they can create simple change in the world in their daily lives, in their classroom, and in their school. And so the idea with that workshop is that we send them away feeling empowered and inspired, and ready to make positive change to help those around them. And so we really want our post-visit activities to help them on that journey, to keep them going, so that they know that their voice is really important in the conversation.
Yvette Poshoglian:
Oh, Steph, I think this is a really interesting time to be talking about these issues. And I know that lots of teachers and students will be engaging and investigating these areas. Look, you did touch a little on this before, but the curriculum connections, there's many different curricula that you could cover through your excursions. Are you able to just tease that out a little bit more?
Stephanie Smith:
Absolutely. I think that this will surprise a lot of teachers. We often get pigeonholed here at the Museum of Australian Democracy in only being about history, in being about the building, and the story that is Old Parliament House. But for us, it's all about coming into the contemporary, and what our role is as the Museum of Australian Democracy, which ties so strongly in with civics and citizenship. But a lot of the work we also do is tapping into those other key learning areas. So, sustainability is obviously a cross-curriculum priority. Doing political cartooning, and we do a lot of work around media literacy, fits really well with English. And so I think a lot of teachers would be pleasantly surprised at how broad our work is, and how many links there are across the curriculum that can support them in their everyday teaching.
Bonnie Tratt:
That's fantastic, Stephanie, and that's what teachers are looking for, that support across lots of curriculum. So the big thing is, how can teachers connect with you? We're lucky enough to have you on DART Learning for your virtual events, which are live and by requests. So do you want to talk a little bit about how they can connect with you?
Stephanie Smith:
Absolutely. So you will, as Bonnie has said, find all of our digital excursions and workshops available on the DART website. You can also access our website directly, where you'll find lots of teacher resources, lots of current, practical inquiry-based resources, ready for you to use in the classroom, and that's at MoAD Learning. And you can also connect with us via the socials. We have quite a big presence on Twitter. We have our own account, so MoAD Learning, and we pop out all of our new resources there. We share lots of great content from other culturals and from teachers who are doing great work around the country. And there's also a closed Facebook group. That's the Australian Civics Educators' Network. And that one is a beautiful collaborative space, where we share lots of resources, not only around civics and citizenship, but also around empowering student voice, media literacy, how to actively participate in our democracy, and all of the contemporary resources that other culturals are popping out as well, we share there.
Yvette Poshoglian:
Fantastic, Stephanie. Never been a better time to get involved, and there are so many connection points, obviously, for the students and the teachers to connect and find out a bit more. On a personal note, I remember my visit to the museum and the press gallery. The press gallery of days gone by that you could sit and pretend to answer the phone in was one of my favorite aspects. So I think that says probably more about me than anything else. But I think just we really thank you for the time you've given us today, and hopefully we can get those students looking into the window into the world of democracy. So really, thank you so much for joining us.
Stephanie Smith:
Wonderful. Thank you so much for having me. I really appreciate this opportunity.
Joachim Cohen:
So team, we've taken a little peek into the potential of virtual excursions, and getting the most out of those mega displays in our classrooms or shared spaces. Do we have some extra top tech tips to get set when opening a window into the world, Yvette?
Yvette Poshoglian:
Ooh, yes we do. Conveniently, we have just got some new magazines out, one for teachers which explores how to use your MLD to its maximum capacity and to really bring that classroom in. We also are looking at features like inking and annotating, and how to use some of those tools to really take out distractions from your classroom. Really, that's a great little article we've got in there. In the kids' magazine, we're also talking through how to get the most out of the digital excursions on offer. And we're also looking at some of the new tools that are around, that can really support that creativity and exploration in the classroom. And that's all I'm going to say about that, because I could take another 10 minutes. But over to you, Linda. I know you've got some other comprehensive resources.
Linda Lazenby:
Look, in terms of the new main learning displays in classrooms, the digital support team have spent a lot of time over the break pulling together resources to support teachers in schools in using them and getting maximum impact for them. What we did was we really looked at what we've had previously for resources to support schools, and we've broken it down into each board. So you can look at which board you have, find out all the technical how-to, and we're building those resources over time to support that really great integration in classroom practice. But there should be nothing there you can't find about your board and if there is, let us know, and we will get it created.
Joachim Cohen:
Bonnie, over to you.
Bonnie Tratt:
Thanks, Jo. Well, of course I'm going to say dartlearning.org.au. Get on there and have a look. Make sure you visit regularly. It's that one website where you'll be able to find all your resources. Subscribe to our newsletter, and make sure you follow us on Facebook and Instagram as well.
Joachim Cohen:
I can tell you, I will totally be doing that as well. That's for sure. And my top tip is whenever you're going to do these virtual excursions, make sure before you do it, you check your microphone and check your camera to make sure everyone in your class can be seen, and everyone can be heard. And don't forget just to reach out to someone. If you've always wanted to bring someone into your classroom, now's the time to do it. You never know. They might just be able to drop in.
Joachim Cohen:
So Yvette, Bonnie, and Linda, I sure hope we've inspired and empowered every one of our listeners to bring the world to their classroom. I'm already so excited for our next episode, when we'll be connecting with Daniela Giorgi, senior education officer with New South Wales Parliament.
Joachim Cohen:
Thank you so much, Bonnie, for joining us, connecting us with these supreme providers, and for all the amazing work you and your team do at DART Learning. Make sure you check out the links in the show notes, because we've got a link to DART Learning and everything else just there. And listeners, please let us know what you thought of our new format and our new take on what you need for 2022. And yes, I know we said we were going to try and keep this to 10 minutes, but we're still learning too. We haven't quite mastered it yet. But I know we're going to get there. The whole T4L and Virtual Staffroom team wish you the most amazing start to 2022. We look forward to hearing from you, walking along beside you, and helping make your 2022 magical. This podcast has been produced by the masterful Jacob Druce, with the assistance and supreme coordination of many more awesome members of the T4L team. Stay supreme, everyone, and thanks for joining us.
Yvette Poshoglian:
Just a little note. Please be aware that all views expressed by the podcast presenters, that's us, are our personal opinions and not representative of the New South Wales Department of Education. Discussions aren't endorsements of third-party products, services, or events. And please note that as much as we sound like it, we are not experts in legalese, tech speak, or anything in between. We're just passionate people, keen to boost technology for learning in the classroom, and to help build the skills in your students, and for you to solve the problems of tomorrow. Do your due diligence, read further, and if we've got something wrong, let us know. We, too, are always learning and always improving.