On the 27th of September our Learnscope team was invited to give a presentation and show our Photo Story work at the Primary Industry and Natural Resources (PI&NR) Faculty Forum. This is where all our PI&NR teachers, part time teachers and support staff gather together to see what everyone else is doing from across our institute. (Which covers nearly half the state). We had a fair turnout of staff come to the presentation.Teachers ranging from Animal Studies, Horticulture, Agriculture and some of our promotional staff.After the presentation there was a lively discussion on the uses of Photo Story 3 and other technologies and how they can be used in our classes.
This opportunity has enabled us to get the word out to other staff members that this new technology is not scary and mostly it is easy to use. Although like learning anything new some guidance may be needed to get started.The make up of our Learnscope group which has included members from a number of sections within PI&NR has also been a positive thing. I also teach in the Environment section and I can see a lot of advantages in using software like Photo Story, ARED and Adobe Connect to improve our classes and create new learning material for our learners. I have been telling and showing teachers I work with what we have been learning in the e-Works project. These other teachers don't only work at the Orange campus but at a number of different campuses. Neil is also from a different section to earthworks. He has been able to see a number advantages to using the skill he has learned in the e-Works in his Horticulture classes.
So it is a bit like 6 degrees of separation. Learnscope has shown me/us a wide range of new technologies that are available to us to use. We have then taken what we thought was good and run with the idea and then passed it on to our colleagues around the state. Hopefully they will think about it and use any ideas they gain from us and use them in there own classes and so on.
