This is the transcript of School Development Day drive thru
Yvette Poshoglian:
Hello everybody, and welcome to today's Digital Drive-thru. It's great to have you here on the second School Development Day. Jo, it's great to see you.
Joachim Cohen:
Oh, it's great to see you too, Yvette, and it is great to see every one of you. That is for sure.
Joachim Cohen:
Now, to begin, we know today's going to be a hugely busy day out there in schools, so we understand. If you need to press pause and get on with your day, just do it. We're recording this session and we'll send it to you afterwards, so you can watch it any time. And we are totally with you with whatever you're doing and all the amazing priorities that you've got today.
Joachim Cohen:
Yvette, what have we got in store?
Yvette Poshoglian:
Look, it's a busy one for you guys. It's a really busy one for us. We're really thrilled to be joining you today here from the lands of the Gadigal people. We're standing on Eora nation today here, and we're coming to you from Sydney. So it is our great pleasure to be chatting with you. But as Joe said, we know you've got a really big day ahead and you're preparing for the weeks ahead.
Yvette Poshoglian:
So what's today hold? Today is all about empowering you. It's about giving you some time back. It's about giving you some organizational tips and tricks and to maybe refresh what you've learned over the last couple of years. We know that you've been embedding a lot of tech in your delivery, so this is just a little taste test to get you back on that path and hopefully inspire you for the week ahead.
Joachim Cohen:
It is so exciting. The week ahead, the term ahead, the year ahead. 2020 and 2021 were amazing years to build a digital foundation at your school. Now, what can we do to continue building on that digital foundation, as Yvette said, save you more time, maybe do assessment and feedback even better? There are so many opportunities to take technology to the next level.
Joachim Cohen:
So what we thought we'd do first, Yvette, is perhaps go and take a peak at one school's journey. We're going to go and take a look at what happened at Jamison High School, see what they did during 2020 and 2021, and find out some of the things that they think they might continue into the future. Let's take a look.
Speaker 3:
Remote learning at Jamison High School was actually not too much of a change because we had already spent a lot of time over the last several years, integrating G suite into our teaching practices. So for us, it was actually a fairly smooth transition. We had the goal and we achieved the goal of having a Google classroom for every subject, for every student. And that meant there was no paperwork going home and that every student had a consistent mode of delivery on their learning.
Speaker 4:
The virtual check-ins were actually very good. With feedback that could be written directly onto documents, it was much easier to sort of visualize what they were talking about because it would highlight the comment on Google Doc, and then it would show you what they've written about it.
Speaker 5:
I feel like it was also better time-wise because there was less distractions at home. I could just get my work done and focus more.
Speaker 3:
Many of the staff at our school have actually come back and said that they started using some of the features on Google Classroom that they'd never before used. So the plagiarism checker, marking rubrics, different tools that they had known had been there in the past, but really had never looked into using until now. And they honestly said they're never going to go back because these tools are invaluable for student assessment and feedback.
Speaker 3:
So what's next at Jamison High School? We want to move from the substitution of our normal resources with digital resources and move from that substitution to really transformation, to modifying and redefining our digital activity, so that they offer more modes of delivery, such as the immersive VR kits that we use from Stem.T4L. Or also, it could be that we're starting to use the Minecraft Education Edition to really give students that platform to show their creativity and innovation.
Speaker 6:
I guess we've always had the idea that technology needs to be embedded in education. That's an important part of it. Now we know how it can happen, and now we've got the expertise in teachers to make it happen. The creativity in that time of remote learning was so intense that now we have that knowledge base to take us forward in a way that's going to really change teaching and learning in the school. Or enhance teaching and learning is probably the word that I'd rather use.
Yvette Poshoglian:
Big thanks to Glyn and the team at Jamison High School, Joe. Honestly, really great to get that feedback. And that's part of a longer video that you can find on our website as well, just to hear about where to next with schools.
Yvette Poshoglian:
Look, as we mentioned at the top of the hour, today is all about giving you time back and helping you find those tips and tricks along the way. You might be a Google school. I got investigating some more Google goodness over the holidays as well, and that could be a good place for you to start.
Yvette Poshoglian:
As we mentioned, I just want to get in there, Joe, that we are on the chat today as well, the Q&A is happening. Why don't you let us know where you're tuning in from? We would absolutely love to hear from you. Lots of you have been in touch in the lead up to this event, letting us know that you're joining. So come on, don't be shy. Tell us where you're from and give us a bit of a shout out. Joe.
Joachim Cohen:
Yeah, absolutely. We really want to know where you're from and if you've got any questions. This is a live show. If you've got any questions, maybe we can even answer them live today. So make sure you get into that chat, get busy, introduce yourself, and you might have some great gems of wisdom for everybody else.
Joachim Cohen:
Now, Yvette, I really want to emphasize that 'Where to Next' series, unbelievable. In addition to the video, there's some great guided questions to guide you and your school through how you might want to build back better and the types of things you might want to continue on with.
Joachim Cohen:
But, you know, Yvette, I'm really excited to see what you've been up to because I know we saw Glyn and his team really do some great work with Google, and I loved what he said about redefining practice. And I think that's what you're going to show people how to do, because we can do feedback and assessment using our old paper systems, but one of the big things that we want to do, as you said, is give you back time, and with digital modes of conducting feedback and assessment, number one, you get time back, but also, the feedback can be richer and more timely for students.
Yvette Poshoglian:
This is true. And actually, there are some great new features in Google Forms, which we're going to take a look at that even further automate that process, and I think it's really worth exploring and playing around with. So why don't you take a look?
Yvette Poshoglian:
Google Forms are so great to use at this time of the year. At the beginning of the year or the beginning of the term, maybe you could use them as a pre-assessment tool to see where your students are at with their learning.
Yvette Poshoglian:
I've set up a really simple quiz. I've just gone to my Google Drive, started a new form, and here it is - Year seven English poetry pop quiz. I'm going to keep it fairly simple just to run you through the features. At the top, we've got Questions, Responses, and Settings. Settings, if you click on that tab helps you set the parameters of your quiz. Perhaps you want to make it a really automated experience whereby you get your snapshot of your students quickly and where they're at with their teaching and learning. And you can also give students automatic feedback too on answers. I've also allocated points values too for my quiz. So jump across to Settings to help set up your quiz and determine what you want to get out of it with your students.
Yvette Poshoglian:
Jump across back to Questions, and down the right hand side, really easy to use toolbar. We're going to simply add questions as we go. I'm going to keep this as a multiple choice, however, you do have options for shorter and longer responses, but with multiple choice, I can get almost instant feedback, and so can the students too with their answers. I'm going to keep it fairly simple. I'm going to give my answers here. My first question in fact is going to be what is imagery? Which is an English teacher's favorite question. And the first option I'm going to give is going to be the correct one - create pictures with words. The next option is going to be the wrong answer. Now, I'm going to say it's the beat of the poem. The third option is also going to be incorrect. And let's say it's words beginning with the same consonant, which is alliteration.
Yvette Poshoglian:
Here is where you set your correct answer, creating pictures with words. And I'm going to give that question and answer five points if they get it correct. So it's also going to be a required response. And don't forget, you can also set how you want your students to respond, whether you want them to go in order or whether you want to shuffle up the questions.
Yvette Poshoglian:
For younger stages, you might want to head to this button here and add an image just as an extra visual stimulus for students. That might really help them out. It's up to you. Don't forget you can go into preview mode by hitting this eye and experience how your students will move through the quiz. You can share the data quite easily and quickly to a spreadsheet and upload it that way. You could also share it quite quickly on Classroom if you're using Google Classroom. Simply grab the link, shorten the URL, copy it across, and say, "Hey, class, take this quiz." Here's one I prepared earlier.
Yvette Poshoglian:
We do have a whole bunch of great information on Google Forms on the Technology 4 Learning resources page, and don't forget magazine.T4L, we cover Google Forms quite a bit, and also link out to some myPL that you might want to take as well. So good luck with Forms everyone.
Joachim Cohen:
Golly gosh, Yvette, you just completely blew my mind with those Google Forms tips. I didn't realize it could do so much.
Yvette Poshoglian:
I might have blown my students minds as well, because who doesn't love a poetry pop quiz on the first day back?
Joachim Cohen:
I love it. Exactly. There is no limit to what you can do, what you can enhance, and what you can redefine with technology. It is so exciting.
Joachim Cohen:
Now, I guess everyone out there is going, "Okay, really loved what you did, Yvette, but you went a little bit fast and I might want to actually retouch on those a little bit later on." So what we're going to do is we're going to take a little mini tour of the website and show people some of those resources. Okay?
Joachim Cohen:
So I'm on the Technology 4 Learning website T4L.schools.nsw.gov.au. You can see that'll popup on the bottom there. And what I'm going to do is I'm going to jump straight to the resources section. So you should be able to see that page now coming through to you so that you know where I'm going, and I'm going to click on Resources right up the top here, and you can see I've got a lot of choices. Now, when you're learning as a teacher, you're jumping into our professional learning resources section, and we've got loads of support-
Yvette Poshoglian:
We do.
Joachim Cohen:
... across lots of different tools, don't we?
Yvette Poshoglian:
And we are at pains to say we update them all the time. So everything's current.
Joachim Cohen:
Absolutely. Absolutely. And look, sometimes the interface might be a little bit different, but we make sure we assess and go, "Oh, okay. I think you can get the idea of what to do," and as long as that idea and notion is clear, we leave that content up there.
Joachim Cohen:
So if I jump into Google, what you can see is there is a load of different resources based around all the different tools. So you can go and explore these at your leisure. The one we looked at today was Google Forms. You can go and click on Google Forms, and what you'll find is some absolutely fantastic resources, links to the magazine that you show people through there, Yvette, you can see down there as well, plus there's some myPL learning that you can do.
Yvette Poshoglian:
It is. And lots of this information is also chunked in videos as well. So you don't need to have that fear factor of reading huge amounts and pages of text. So there's a lot of accordion boxes there with a lot of video as well. So make sure you explore it. I mean, honestly, that's how I've learned, trial and error, but also watching the guided videos that we've created.
Joachim Cohen:
But you know what, Yvette? We don't want to let people go without giving them a life vest as well. So the life vest is we know you're keen to use it, but what about getting your students to use it? Now, teaching students how to use tech is another thing we don't want you to have to do. We want to save you the time, don't we?
Yvette Poshoglian:
Yep.
Joachim Cohen:
So we've got these great teaching and learning resources. So I'm going to click on that section of our website now. We're going to Teaching and Learning Resources, and inside our teaching and learning resources, what you'll actually find is loads and loads of awesome content. Now, we're going to cover some of these later on.
Yvette Poshoglian:
We are.
Joachim Cohen:
But T4L Kids TV is the one I want to jump on now because these are snippet videos, two minutes, designed for you to share directly with your students in a Google Classroom, in a Google team, directly through email or just on the smart board.
Yvette Poshoglian:
That's it.
Joachim Cohen:
It is fantastic. And look at this, look at this, look at this. How to use Microsoft Forms or how to use Google Forms to gather data. So once we've done it as teachers, we're going to get our students doing it as well to gather real data to work with in maths. Maybe it's in English, maybe it's in society and culture, in HSIE across the broad spectrum. How exciting?
Joachim Cohen:
Oh, look at those sad faces. Don't worry, it'll appear happy for you. It's just my internet connection's a little bit slow here today, but there are some great videos there that you'll be able to watch with your students. Take it away, take it away. That is for sure. But, Yvette, we have got loads more time saving tips for everyone out there today. The biggest one is coming up next. I love this tip.
Yvette Poshoglian:
I know. This is a good one. I think this is great, especially if you're sitting in your library, your staff are in your faculty office or even working from home. This is the bible. We're talking the term calendar. We need to give you some hot tips on how you can actually use this in a different way this term. And yeah, we're going to... To me, it's the thing I look at most, especially at this time of the year. And the students are always referring to it as well.
Joachim Cohen:
Oh my gosh, Yvette.
Yvette Poshoglian:
Who are we going to head to next for this tip?
Joachim Cohen:
Oh, I think we're heading to our T4L Wikipedia on technology. It's Stu Hasic.
Stu Hasic:
Hey there. I'm here to talk to you for the start of the year with a new technology tip, and it's all about calendars. Now, the department's got a calendar website that has all of the calendars that you can get for 2022. It talks about the term dates, the weeks of the year, and so on. And one of these links that you can download here is a PDF of the 2022 school planner. This is what it looks like. It's a great little document that you can print off. And as a PDF file, you can even edit it using Adobe Acrobat. But the great thing that it shows is the school weeks.
Stu Hasic:
Now, wouldn't it be great if you could have those school weeks easily showing in your Microsoft Outlook calendar. I'm sitting here in Microsoft Outlook and every staff member has access to this on their Windows computers. You can just launch Outlook and you'll get your email and your calendar shown in the Outlook desktop app. And one thing that it doesn't come with by default is the weeks of the year. So I'm sitting here in February 14, the week of February 14. I have no idea what school week that is. Wouldn't it be great if across the top here you could see that it was week three or week two or whatever it actually is.
Stu Hasic:
So how can we do that? And that's what this tip is all about. So I'll just put Outlook down for a second. And what I will show you is this little URL. It's a magic little URL that you should take note of right now, nswdoe.link/2022calendar. When you type that into your browser, you will end up at this particular document. It's a spreadsheet, it's a Google spreadsheet, and you can download a copy of it. And what it contains is all the school weeks of the year, all of the important dates that are happening throughout 2022, and it's in a form that's ready to be imported into your Microsoft Outlook.
Stu Hasic:
So what do you have to do to import it? First thing you do is click Download here. It will go and grab a copy of that and put it on onto your computer, into your Downloads folder. So if I go into my Downloads folder here, I will see that it's now at the top here, 2022 Outlook Calendar. That's great. What do I do with it? Well, let's go into Outlook and we'll go to File, and then we're going to go Open and Export. We're going to import and export. And then we're choosing this option that says, "Import from another program or file." Then it says, "What type of file is it that you're importing?"
Stu Hasic:
Well, what we're importing is a comma separated values file that we downloaded from that Google Sheet. So we go Next. And then it says, "Where is that file?" Okay, so we browse for it and we tell it, go look in the Downloads folder. And it should be sitting here somewhere at the top, 2022 Outlook folder, and we'll go, Okay. And that's it. And we go we want to do not import any duplicates, just in case you've got any duplicate items. It's always best to select that bottom one. Go Next. And where do we want to put it? We want to put it into our calendar. So make sure that it's selected calendar and you go Next. And then we choose this option. We don't have to select anything here, just click Finish. And it's now importing all of those dates straight into my calendar.
Stu Hasic:
And hey, look at that. This has now come in and said that term one, week four. And if I go to the next week, it's term one, week five, and it's an 11 week term. So I have all of these dates now in my calendar. And I've got things like school holidays, I've got NAPLAN online week, testing windows and so on. So all of those important dates are in my calendar for 2022. Hope that was of use.
Stu Hasic:
Now, while I've got you, I'd like to talk to you about this. And this is Yammer Hot Spots. It's a activity, an online event that we run every single Monday during school term, and it's a half hour show that we run. It's myself and Greig Tardiani, and we're actually up to episode 60. So that website that you saw up here will take you to the Yammer Hot Spots webpage, and it's got all of the details of every past episode. We've been running this for quite some time. We have guests on every single show. We talk about what's new. We talk about hot tips and information that Greig shares with us. And then we talk to our guests, and they're usually inspirational, motivational guests that you, I'm sure, will get a whole lot out of. So tell all of your staff about Yammer Hot Spots. That's the URL to go to. That's the date and time to lock into your brand new calendar. Hope that was of use.
Yvette Poshoglian:
Gosh, it's good to hear from our guru, Stu. I reckon that piece of information is absolute gold, but there's no need to worry. If all of that, you've just taken on board and you wouldn't know where to start, don't forget that this webinar is being recorded. You can watch that back. If you're keen to join Yammer Hot Spots, this term, keep an eye out for the events on our events page on our website.
Yvette Poshoglian:
You know what's really interesting for me? And I've been quite lucky on a personal level, after years and years of dealing with Stu and hearing from him online, it was such a pleasure to meet him in real life. So we salute you, Stu, and all that you do, and you've really given us a very cool piece of info there to work with.
Yvette Poshoglian:
Jo, what's happening next?
Joachim Cohen:
What's happening next? Well, don't forget, everyone, if that looked a bit new to you as well, your Exchange account, there is a great new section on our website that's all about the new Exchange Online. So you can go and check that as well for some more top tips on how to get the most out of that, streamline things, boost your productivity.
Yvette Poshoglian:
Explain my daily briefing to me.
Joachim Cohen:
Oh, I like it. Yes. That's a really cool feature. Absolutely. So loads of resources out there, but it doesn't stop. Lots of schools might have been receiving these huge, big new screens we call Main Learning Displays. Now, they are way more than just a TV. They are interactive, they've got sound, they've got cameras, but you know what, Yvette? Instead of us talking about it, I think we need to go and roll up the roller door, head over to the T4L garage, and we are going to connect with our T4L garage guru, Greig Tardiani.
Greig Tardiani:
Hey, everyone. There's exciting things about to be coming into your classroom. This is a Main Learning Display or MLD, and it's going to revolutionize the way you run your digital classroom. It's got a large 4K HD touchscreen made of toughened glass with an anti-glare coating. It's also got great speakers, meaning it can be seen and heard from even the back of the classroom.
Greig Tardiani:
Each MLD has an eT4L Mini PC attached to the back, which is able to run everything you're used to accessing within the school networks. Operating the MLD is easy to do with the quick access buttons on the front, the onscreen controls, or there's even the remote control. You can also plug in your laptop or tablet using the HDMI and USB ports on the other side of the screen. The USB allows for interactivity on Windows devices so that you can actually touch the screen and operate your laptop.
Greig Tardiani:
The interactive panel could be used with your hands or a stylus pen and is able to detect up to 20 points of contact, meaning true collaborative brainstorming. Multiple children could be using the board at the one time. The high definition webcam is perfect for incursions, group work, or online activities like digital debating.
Greig Tardiani:
Look, I am really excited about seeing these appear in more and more classrooms across New South Wales this year. When you get the chance to work with one, don't be afraid. They're really hard to break, fun to use, and everything you need to prepare for your class will be available on the T4L website.
Yvette Poshoglian:
I'm not going to lie, Joe, that when Greig hits that MLD with his fist, I mean, my heart was in my mouth, but they are very hardy products. We know that because they're in schools everywhere, but I just loved Greig's perspective on bringing the MLD to life in your school classroom, and also how it can be used, particularly in this era of virtual excursions. And there are some things that I know we both love using MLDs for.
Joachim Cohen:
Oh, absolutely, Yvette. It's all about connecting. It's a window into the world. Because most MLDs, or if you've got one and you want to add a camera to it, you can. And that way both your students can be transmitted out to the world, and of course the world can come in. So you can go to amazing places that you wouldn't be able to visit normally.
Yvette Poshoglian:
Well, look, it'd be remiss of me if I didn't plug DART Learning and everything fantastic that they've done in the past few years. I know last year I was lucky enough to be involved in virtual book week. So there's a whole week of amazing literary resources with some of the best authors and illustrators going around if you want to start off your English with a bang. But there's so many institutions organized, and you can connect with through DART Learning. So make sure you take a look at that. But we've got some other resources on MLDs too, haven't we, Joe?
Joachim Cohen:
We do, Yvette. Yeah. Check out that dart learning website. I love the new tours of Parliament House.
Yvette Poshoglian:
Ooh. Yes.
Joachim Cohen:
They are fantastic. But yes, indeed on our website, if you jump into our website again, I'm going to take you right through it. So we're going back to the resources section and this time we're going to Device Management Resources. So when we hit on Device Management Resources, what you'll find is loads of links to lots of the different Technology 4 Learning tools that you see inside your classroom, all those hardware devices. And one of the sections, of course, is Main Learning Displays.
Joachim Cohen:
Now, when you jump to the Main Learning Displays website, what you'll find is loads of resources for all the different types of brands you could possibly have, and also some generic resources, which can really power up the way you use these devices to have impact on your teaching and learning. Maybe, Yvette, it's going to be inking. Getting on there with a digital pen.
Yvette Poshoglian:
I know. I know you're keen on the inking.
Joachim Cohen:
Yes.
Yvette Poshoglian:
But yes, no. I think there's a lot more to bring out of your MLDs.
Joachim Cohen:
You know what, Yvette? One of the big things I really love to do is to use Immersive Reader on my MLD, because you know when you look up a website and there's all that stuff around the outside, all that noise? You can get rid of it. Immersive Reader gets rid of it. And guess what? There's a T4L Kids TV video to help you and your students use that tool.
Yvette Poshoglian:
I feel like I need that tool often when I'm reading, Joe. I think it's an extremely useful tool-
Joachim Cohen:
Oh dear.
Yvette Poshoglian:
... to get that focus and concentration back.
Joachim Cohen:
Absolutely.
Yvette Poshoglian:
Look, speaking of which, Stu has been kind enough to chuck in the video that he's just shown on Outlook calendar and the school planner. So it should be in the link there. And again, connect with us, tell us where you're from. We love seeing and hearing from you. And it gives us a bit of connection, sense of connection here in the studio. It's one of those really strange things to be talking into a camera with two huge MLDs on either side.
Joachim Cohen:
Absolutely. So yes, don't worry. You've got the links in the chat. If you don't find them in the chat, don't worry, we'll be sending you out a fantastic lot of show notes. You can jump into our T4L teacher community to get even more.
Yvette Poshoglian:
That's it. That's it.
Joachim Cohen:
Which is fantastic. But, Yvette, we've been talking about saving time, we've been talking about building back better, and about redefining practice, but we're here at the Technology 4 Learning team, we also take a really big look into the future and what students' futures are going to look like.
Yvette Poshoglian:
That's it. And look, Joe, we're both secondary teachers, so shout out to the secondary crew. But honestly, this is where we're headed. Our students are digital natives. This is their future. This is their world to inhabit and make for the better. So we've actually been really lucky to connect with some incredible people, working in interesting spheres, and also in future-focused industries. And we've been lucky enough to make some interesting connections, and I think there's some great showcases there for your students. And they don't have to be stage six students. I reckon the sooner, the better, let's get them onto hearing from these people. First up, we're going to hear from a really inspiring young designer, game designer, Phoebe Watson.
Phoebe Watson:
Hi, my name's Phoebe and I'm a proud indigenous woman from the Yarrer Gunditji Clan of the Maar Nation in South West Victoria, and I'm a game designer.
Phoebe Watson:
I got into game design when I was looking at university courses, actually. I didn't know it was something that I could go and study at a university, and I'd always been playing games since I was a kid. So I thought, I feel like that could be a really fun career. So I decided to apply, and I was really lucky to get in.
Phoebe Watson:
I'm working a few jobs. So I'm working with Star Stable Entertainment as a writer and junior designer. I've also been working with GUCK on their indigenous-led project. Unfortunately, I can't talk too much about those yet, but I can talk about my work with DragonBear Studios on Innchanted.
Phoebe Watson:
Innchanted is a game where players work together to run this inn and save it from this evil wizard who's kind of stolen this inn from your family, and you work together to serve customers, manage monsters, make potions, and it's about working together and having fun. So it's a really fun, cute little game, and there's a lot of indigenous culture worked into there, into the stories. It's got a beautiful soundtrack by some beautiful indigenous artists and beautiful art in general.
Phoebe Watson:
So I came onto the team to kind of help them integrate indigenous culture into their game in a really safe and respectful way. So I was working really closely with community elders and community, talking about the game, what we might like to include in the game, and what's culturally safe and okay to put in, as well as kind of thinking about what kind of game play that would make sense with that as well. So, what the characters are doing, who the characters are, and some of their back stories even.
Phoebe Watson:
Two of the top skills that I would recommend if you want to work in game design is being able to work really well in teams and taking critical feedback. If you can't work well in a team, the game kind of ends up struggling and you can't do the job alone. Usually you need somebody else to help you. And if you can work really well with people, some magic does start to happen and you come up with some really cool ideas that maybe you probably wouldn't have thought of alone.
Phoebe Watson:
When I was in uni in one of my first classes, we were told to make a game with a single deck of cards. It couldn't be an existing game. We had to come up with our own rules and our own game from a single deck of cards. So my team went away and we figured out something and it was actually quite fun. So I want to set a challenge to you to go out and take a deck of cards, some dice, maybe a small game that already exists, or even pieces from a game and create your own little game out of that and see what you can come up with.
Joachim Cohen:
Yvette, look, what a privilege it is to be able to connect with amazing people like Phoebe. I was blown away by seeing the work that she does. I know I've got to go and check out her game, Innchanted, so I can see some of the amazing work that she does, but part of what we are doing is about inspiring students, but then building their skills so that they can actually start to develop these competencies themselves and be ready for the future.
Joachim Cohen:
So, everyone, it's time to head back to the website. We're going to show you where you can grab some of these amazing resources. So I'm back on the homepage. Now, what I'm going to do is I'm going to jump to our teaching and learning resources again, because these are resources that you want to use directly with your students. Now, inside our teaching and learning resources, we've got a couple of sections we're going to explore with you today. The first one is Totally Tech. So this is our series focused on heading out, finding out what the future looks like, and then equipping your students with the skills, the activities to build those competencies.
Yvette Poshoglian:
And you know, Joe, I think this is a really complete package of learning as well. Just to give teachers a sense of what is available in Totally Tech, it's a whole package of videos, connected classroom activities, curriculum guided activities involving the tech and future focus sectors. Also, the guests are very cool that we've had.
Joachim Cohen:
Oh my God, they're so cool. I mean, we didn't just have physical guests, we had technology guests.
Yvette Poshoglian:
Digital guests.
Joachim Cohen:
It's the Gadi. It's the supercomputer. So you can see this one here, the supercomputer that we went down to in Canberra. Oh my God, mind-blowing place. And you'll see it as Tanya and I go and take a tour of it, Yvette, but then you've got all those activities. It's a week's worth of work. Yes, we're giving you ideas here, people. Sometime throughout the term, you're going to want to use Gadi, the Totally Tech resource. Don't forget the drone racing team too.
Yvette Poshoglian:
It's hard to forget because that is such a cool and unusual thing that we're able to put together and get access to. This is a group of pilots who are actually racing drones for the army. I mean, if that doesn't get your students excited, I don't know what will.
Joachim Cohen:
And then they just get to think. How could they use drones in so many other areas to do drones for good. It is unbelievable. Now, those videos with Phoebe, we had more as well. Are you going to explore those resources later on, Yvette?
Yvette Poshoglian:
Look, I always think it's worth showing everyone. Maybe we'll show them at the end, Joe. We did get to interview some other really cool people involved in the gaming industry in that online gaming world and looking at game design, game development, app design, app prototyping, and we've got some fantastic kids' resources and student resources as well in T4L Kids magazine that Joe's got up on the screen now. And maybe we'll cover them a little bit more fully at the end of the show. But just rest assured, there's plenty of stuff to go on and plenty of things for you to explore. If you're new to T4L Kids, we can't wait to show you about it. But Joe, time's a-ticking. You've got somewhere to be.
Joachim Cohen:
Is it time for me... I've got to get innovating, people. I will see you all soon.
Joachim Cohen:
Hey, everyone, welcome to the Technology 4 Learning team's innovation lab. It is so awesome to welcome you into our skunk works. So what do we do here in the lab? Well, as you can see, we've got loads of educational technology tools, and it's our job to find them, to test them, to see if they might have a place inside your classroom. And of course, we're also trying to make connection easier. So when you get them out of the box, they just work.
Joachim Cohen:
So what are the kind of things we do here in the lab? Well, yeah, we do assess technology tools, but really, we're on the look out for tools that might make the classroom a little bit more accessible. Perhaps it might make the curriculum even more engaging. It is an exciting place to be. That is for sure.
Joachim Cohen:
Now, I'm sure you're all saying, "What have you got in the lab at the moment, Joe? What have you had in the lab recently?" Well, we don't just have physical tools like these, recently we had Canva for Education in the lab, and now, every teacher across New South Wales public schools can get access to Canva for Education, and of course can get access for their students. There's a link inside the show notes.
Joachim Cohen:
But what can you see that we've got here today? Number one, look at this over here. Is this just an average monitor? This is not an average monitor. It's a touch screen monitor. Have a think about what your students could do to get a little bit more creative in the classroom. And of course, our younger students, do they want to touch everything? Well, it might mean that when you use your T4L rollout points next, you're actually able to purchase a touch monitor, which of course would build their skills.
Joachim Cohen:
Now, what have we got here? A chess set. I do love to play chess. You might too, but this is not your average chess set. Watch. Okay. What happens next? Can you hear the whirring? Ah, oh my gosh. Oh my gosh. What happened? Uh-oh. The queen just took my castle. I'm gone. Can you imagine this occurring? That other player, the player using the black pieces could be anywhere across the world. That means that students in Moree and Junee can... could connect and actually play an amazing game of chess.
Joachim Cohen:
Wow. The possibilities of educational technology are so exciting. And yes, I'm going to invite every one of you into the lab, every Tuesday this term, starting around about week four. Make sure you keep an eye on our events pages, which is where we will have the next office hours, which is where you can come chat to me, give me your problems, ask questions, and we'll see if we can solve them. All right now, guess what? It's time to head back to the main studio where Yvette's got something exciting to show you.
Yvette Poshoglian:
And-
Joachim Cohen:
Hello.
Yvette Poshoglian:
... he's back, Joe. I know how passionate you are about the innovations lab, and it's a really big part about what makes you tick, but also T4L tick. I just love hearing and seeing you talk about out the new innovations that you're exploring and testing on our behalf.
Joachim Cohen:
Oh look, we're just about making an impact Yvette. And a lot of times you might be going, "Well, what are we doing? Why are we investigating these types of things?" And it does take a really long time to assess, to figure out where they're going to have impact on the classroom, and make them work and make them scalable. So some of the things may not work. Sometimes we might have to go, "Oh, look, it's too much. It's not worth it. We can't see the teaching and learning advantages." But our role is to make sure that you don't have to waste your time doing that. We're all about doing it first and finding those gems, that gold.
Yvette Poshoglian:
That's right. Well, the chess set, I know you're really passionate about, and you're just about to put into that piloting phase and really-
Joachim Cohen:
Exciting.
Yvette Poshoglian:
... explore how the students are going to use it in different regions. And I can't wait to see the results of that. But of course, the results that you guys might know is what you see in the EdBuy catalog. And that's really the end effect after it's been through rigorous testing in the department's environment and making sure that it really works and has that teaching and learning drive and impetus throughout every product. So, Joe, I know you're happy and I love seeing you in the lab.
Joachim Cohen:
Oh, I love being in the lab. And you know what I want to do? I want to put the call out to every one of you. If you've seen something cool, you've got something that looks like the future of technology inside the classroom, you're not sure how to test it, you want to pass that idea on, get in touch with the team, send us an email, shoot me a line on Teams. Anything like that. I really want to hear from you because innovation does not just come from the center, it also comes from all of you out there in schools. We want to hear from you. That's for sure.
Yvette Poshoglian:
No, you're right.
Yvette Poshoglian:
Now, look, Joe, onto more practical matters. Last night, I got my backpack out. I made a packed lunch today. Who am I? It's the start of a fresh year.
Joachim Cohen:
Oh my gosh.
Yvette Poshoglian:
But also in the backpack, what did I find? At least seven USBs. However, are you here to tell me that USBs are a thing of the past?
Joachim Cohen:
You know what, Yvette? You know? What I say is that whenever I get out a USB, I have this horrible flashback of that time when I plugged in my USB and it came up and said, "No data."
Yvette Poshoglian:
No data. Gosh.
Joachim Cohen:
And you know what? We should never be in this situation anymore, Yvette. What should we use?
Yvette Poshoglian:
I know. Well, look, I'm sorry to say, you're going to have to retire the James Bond USB cuff links. However, the solution is at hand. Let's go and have a look in the cloud.
Stu Hasic:
Hi, I'm going to talk about personal cloud storage. Now, a lot of teachers have already moved to the cloud, but there's still plenty out there who haven't yet discovered the amazing things that you can do with cloud storage. There's a lot of people who are still using their U Drive on their eT4L server as their personal home folder. There's other people who are using My Documents on a laptop, and that's the only place that they keep their documents. There's even some people out there who are still using USB sticks as their only storage of the content that they produce at school and in their personal lives as well.
Stu Hasic:
But since our department has been increasing internet bandwidth at all of our schools, cloud storage really is a sensible thing for schools to be using, for teachers to be using individually as well. And you've both got access to Microsoft 365 and a Google Workspace. So Microsoft OneDrive is the cloud storage there. And Google Drive is the cloud storage in the Google space. Definitely worth finding out all about out it and seeing how you could be using it in your day-to-day life.
Stu Hasic:
The benefit of using cloud storage is that it's anywhere, it's any time, and it's any device. So you could be anywhere. As long as there's internet access available, you'll be able to access all of your files that you've put into the cloud, regardless of whether you're using Microsoft OneDrive or whether you're using Google Drive. And it doesn't matter whether you're an Android device, an Apple iPhone, an iPad, a Windows or a Mac device, you'll be able to get your documents from the cloud very easily. And that's just convenience.
Stu Hasic:
The next big question that you're probably going to have is, okay, well, which one do you choose? Google Workspace or Microsoft 365? They're available to every staff member across New South Wales, and you've got that choice. If you're a Google Classroom user and if you're very comfortable in Google Docs and Google Sheets and Google Slides, then you're probably going to lean towards the Google Drive for your personal storage. But if you're somebody who has a whole lot of documents, that Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and so on, then more than likely, you'll be wanting to go to Microsoft OneDrive as your personal storage. It's really up to you. And maybe if you're a power user like me, you'll use both platforms. There's no reason why you shouldn't be using both of them. It's quite amazing cloud storage that you have available at your fingertips.
Stu Hasic:
Now, there's a learning curve. It's not something that you'll pick up straight away, particularly if you're used to a USB stick, or if you are used to an external hard drive or that My Documents folder. How do you get things into the cloud? How do you access it? How do you share it? It's collaborative. That's the other big advantage of it.
Stu Hasic:
Well, the T4L team has got you covered there. So if you go to the T4L website, under Resources, you'll find professional learning resources. And in there you'll find Google resources, and there's a whole lot of videos, just short little video clips on how to do things with Google Drive, how to migrate your data, how to share your data with others and so on and so forth. There's a whole lot of videos in there. And there's even videos about all of the different apps that are associated with the Google Workspace platform.
Stu Hasic:
If you choose Microsoft instead though, then you'll want to find out about Microsoft OneDrive, and all of the Microsoft OneDrive steps and videos are shared on that page for you as well. And as well as that, you've got details linking you to advice and tips about how to use Microsoft presentation tools, video tools, collaboration tools, Microsoft 3D tools, Microsoft Teams, and so on. Totally fantastic resources available from the T4L team. And self-paced. As you want to learn, just jump in. It's just in time learning ready for you.
Stu Hasic:
Now, even if you don't use cloud storage as your day-to-day storage device for your activity, your collaboration, your work with your documents, the very least you should be doing is a backup up to the cloud. So if you've got something on a USB stick, you want to make sure that there's more than one copy of those documents, those photos on that stick. Don't just put it on the stick, get it up into the cloud as well. Just make a backup copy in your Google Drive or in your Microsoft OneDrive or even both. The more places that you have copies of the file, the less likely you're going to lose anything.
Stu Hasic:
Now, while I've got you, finding out about what's happening with technology in the department. Did you know that the department and the T4L team in particular has been producing regular weekly news for teachers for schools since 2015? We're up to issue number 80. And this is the latest issue here. It was released at the end of term four of 2021. And we produce three issues every single term, week three, six, and nine, and they contain all of the latest announcements, all the latest information, tips, resources, links, all those sorts of things that will help you in your day-to-day use of technology at your school.
Stu Hasic:
There's an archive of every past issue that you can jump into at any stage. And if you want to know when there's a brand new release has come out of the news.T4L newsletter, then all you should do is click this little subscribe button over here and go to the form, fill it out, put your school code, school name, your name, first name, and your portal ID, and you'll get an email on the Monday of every week three, six, and nine of term to say, "Hey, there's a brand new issue of news.T4L."
Yvette Poshoglian:
Thanks again, Stu, and also for the added bonus of the plug to become a T4L subscriber at the end of that video. Nice touch there. Thank you to everyone as well for engaging with the chat. There's been quite a few questions coming through. Really pleased to see that. And I know Stu and the team and Krysta have been in the background answering questions. However, Joe, I think we might run through some of the questions in there about Canva and show you how to find some of that information online.
Joachim Cohen:
Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. One of our innovations, so we're really excited to get people connected with Canva for Education. So if you are on the website, that's the hub, don't forget, guess where you can find this information. You know where to find it Yvette. It's in our resources, isn't it?
Yvette Poshoglian:
It's under resources. Professional learning. And look, some of the questions, I think just some of the most common questions are how do you set up a class in there? The answers are all on this page. And essentially, once you register with your DET login and set up your account that way, then there are some really simple instructions on how to set up your classroom and invite your students in to design with Canva.
Joachim Cohen:
Now, look, there's a magic link. It's a very special link. You can see it down here. So sign up now. You have to use that link. Don't just sign up on the Canva website. Make sure you use that special magic link, and that way you'll get all the advantages of the education account, which means limitless images, templates, and of course, as Yvette's saying, that ability to create a class. And there are these great resources that you can see just here that you can share with colleagues, or you can share with students that get you started straight away really quickly, really easily.
Yvette Poshoglian:
That's right. And Canva, the New South Wales education edition is a premium edition. So there is lots to explore on there. In fact, I was only playing around with the video feature and I recorded my Google Forms video in Canva. That was something new to me as well. So I really think just like the Canva platform, it is really intuitive, very easy to jump in and use. And you know what? The students have been using it anyway. So they can always show you some of the features that they're enjoying. But we actually even touched on creating an app prototype using Canva in one of our latest issues of the kids magazine. So there's plenty to explore with Canva.
Joachim Cohen:
Oh, there's so much to do. I mean, you just kind of think I can create a poster on there, but infographics, as you are going to show people later on, website, videos, there's so much in store. Now, look, we're talking about that, but remember, if we want to actually save you time and implement these activities directly in the classroom, we've got some great resources that connect into that.
Yvette Poshoglian:
We do. It has reached that time. It is time to wave the T4L Kids flag, Joe. If you want to take us back to the website, I just think it's worth showcasing to everyone again, the magic of T4L Kids put together by our educators in the team. And what we've created is all about how you can embed technology into activities that are actually independent learning resources for students. You can choose how you want to share this with students. Of course, it could comprise part of your programmed learning for the term, but more importantly, it's actually a great independent resource that you can send to students and share with them. It really is hitting that stages three to four age group. But look, I feel that you can extend either side, depending on the task and the nature of the work.
Yvette Poshoglian:
So each issue, and I think we've got seven additions out of T4L Kids at the moment, are really worth exploring. Some of our most recent editions have been all about data. Joe, I know that's one of your passions and one of your favorites. I think you're actually going through that at the moment. Do you want to show people some of the features involved?
Joachim Cohen:
Oh, absolutely. So this one here, this is the app prototyping one, but what I really love about it, Yvette, is first of all, right at the very start it's based around the design thinking process. So it really gets students thinking about who's the audience that they're actually preparing their product for, thinking about the process that they're going to go through, and realizing that technology is just one of the many components. So this activity can apply to just about any KLA. It gets me so excited. And then when I start to explore the magazine even - and students do Yvette - there are some great videos which walk students through how they can actually use technology to bring their ideas to life.
Yvette Poshoglian:
That's right. And we might just take another look at the mag and just show you some of the features in the magazine. So as you said, Joe, at the outset, we've got the design thinking model. So we're really getting students to engage their brains and think about how they're going to research and plan and design what they're going to create at the end. So with the app design issue, it was all about thinking about that inception process, right through to launching a new product, which this is real world stuff here. We really want students to get out there and sell their app prototypes and get them to explore even what market they would put it into. I mean, they're our biggest consumers of apps. They know what to do, but let's put it in a curriculum based pedagogic framework and get them running there.
Joachim Cohen:
Oh my gosh. And inside that magazine, you can find a link to Phoebe's whole video, plus a couple of others. So there's one with another amazing CEO of a fabulous app design company. And it's the one, the producers of Crossy Road.
Yvette Poshoglian:
Crossy Road. Crossy Road.
Joachim Cohen:
Crossy Road. So you have to go and check that out. Plus there's even more in store there, as well as all those amazing demo, ways students can continue to build their skills. Because remember we said it's all about building for the future, have the extension activities, as well as loads of other content.
Yvette Poshoglian:
Look, I'm going to say the M word. We also have a Minecraft issue of that magazine. And what's been really fantastic is at the end of each issue, students, we're getting them to share their work. So thank you to all the teachers that are sharing the work. And we're always so happy to feature some of that learning that's taking place in the next issue of the mag. So keep your eyes peeled. We're going to have four new editions this year. We're working in the background as we speak, on the new one. In fact, I need to get back to that.
Joachim Cohen:
Oh my gosh, Yvette.
Yvette Poshoglian:
I need to get back to it.
Joachim Cohen:
Yvette, Yvette, Yvette. Before you get back to it, look at all these editions. You said there's the Minecraft edition. There it is just there. All you do is click to access.
Yvette Poshoglian:
That's right.
Joachim Cohen:
This one can be applied to just about every KLA as well.
Yvette Poshoglian:
I mean, you should also use it on your MLD. Why not? That's a great place to use it.
Joachim Cohen:
That's it. Imagine putting this up on the MLD.
Yvette Poshoglian:
This product placement we are giving here, Joe, is just nothing else. It's amazing.
Joachim Cohen:
Unbelievable.
Yvette Poshoglian:
Now, the other thing I do want to say about speaking about T4L things that are all good, the T4L Kids magazine of course is for students, but also we've got something for you. You might be familiar with magazine.T4L. Now, we've really created this with you in mind. And when we started it out, it was really a beginner focus for the magazine and trying to support you through using tech. But now you guys are just so far beyond that, it's all about growing your skills and building back better with your digital classrooms that you've been setting up over the last couple of years. So each episode, well, issue of the magazine. You'll see there's a real feature focus on tips and hacks and new features in products and releases. I know that because we write it Joe, but honestly, it is a really great place to go. And look, we do share it with you as soon as it becomes available. So make sure you go back and check those back issues.
Joachim Cohen:
Oh, absolutely. Go and check all the way back because they're filled with loads of goodness. There are great case studies directly from schools. So you can see how everyday practitioners at the grassroots are actually applying the use of these technology tools. Then be empowered to build those skills yourself and implement these activities with your students. I love every edition of magazine.T4L. But, guys, everyone out there, people out there, I shouldn't use that term, there is loads of other resources on the Technology 4 Learning website, and one of those is our podcast, Yvette.
Yvette Poshoglian:
I know. I'm glad you brought out the steak knives, Joe, because there is so much to talk about. Honestly, the virtual staff room, if you're not subscribing to it, do it right now. We are very lucky here in that we get to meet lots of thought leaders from the tech industry. People from complete left field may have a connection to education or we find that connection, but we explore how it will impact the education field. We've had focuses on AI, electric vehicles. Joe, I know that's a passion of yours.
Joachim Cohen:
Oh, absolutely, Yvette. If you ask me which is my favorite podcast, I think it's the one with Molly Taylor. Molly Taylor, who recently took out the E-Rally series, the Global E-Rally series. We talked to her.
Yvette Poshoglian:
I know. How fortuitous that we got her just before she won the world champion... Electric vehicles we might say. Look, I've learnt a lot. And if you want to just have something to take on your walk with you, on your drive to work, it's about 20 to 30 minutes for each podcast. And again, we'll be gearing up this year to bring you some of our favorites, and some of the information we really want you to find out.
Joachim Cohen:
Oh, and it's unbelievable. What it's about is about providing a window for you, so you can continue to see the importance and the relevance of tech in the real world. And it really provides a connection to go, "Oh, I can see really why technology skills, building STEM skills is so important in my students."
Yvette Poshoglian:
It's true. But we have got an education focus. We spoke to Pasi Sahlberg not too long ago. We've spoken to some of our incredible thought leaders in the department, Mark Greentree. We've spoken to Kathy Powzun. So there's lots of guests on the podcast that do bring a lot to, look, lowering the lens of education where it sits right now.
Joachim Cohen:
And we bring the grassroots back. We go, "Okay, this is what the future looks like. This is what our expert says. What can we do about it in the classroom today?
Yvette Poshoglian:
That's it.
Joachim Cohen:
Not just tomorrow, not in the future, but today. All about empowering you with amazing resources to give you that boost, because we're here to support you. We know 2022 is going to be a tough year, don't we, Yvette? That is for sure. But it's going to be an awesome year with Technology 4 Learning. We're here to support you. Jump into our Technology 4 Learning teacher community.
Yvette Poshoglian:
That's it. Yep.
Joachim Cohen:
Absolutely.
Yvette Poshoglian:
We'd love to see you there. So a lot of you have joined us there over the last year, and really, that's the best place to stay in touch with us.
Yvette Poshoglian:
We'd like to thank you if you've joined us today for the first time, and you're really connecting with the Technology 4 Learning team. Behind Joe and I is a great team of producers today, but also the gurus that we work with every day who have that real focus in bringing you the best of tech. We just get to unpack it for you. So we have a really great team here who we'd like to thank as well behind the scenes, and I know that you've come into contact with lots of them as well. So we know that you've got a really busy day ahead as you're planning out your weeks ahead, and we wanted to let you know that we're thinking about you and we're thinking of you, and we look forward to hearing from you and staying in touch with you.
Joachim Cohen:
Absolutely. It has been a real pleasure. We hope you have an amazing 2022. Stay in touch with us. As Yvette said, we need to thank our producer Ben, our amazing people on the chat. We've had Krysta, we've had Stu, we've had Aditi, we've got our other amazing technology guru behind the scenes, Anh, who's also our videographer. We've got Jacob. The list goes on, Yvette.
Yvette Poshoglian:
I know.
Joachim Cohen:
We can't forget Greig in the garage as well.
Yvette Poshoglian:
And now we've got to clean out the garage and the innovations lab. So, Joe, we do have to go.
Joachim Cohen:
We do have to go. You have to go. Have an amazing day. We look forward to connecting with you. I hope to see you during our office hours in the next few weeks. And look, have a blast with Technology 4 Learning.
End of transcript.