oz-TeacherNet - Teachers helping teachers

Introduction

This project provides teachers with the infrastructure for using the Internet to support professional development and curriculum. Through negotiation and collaboration with groups of educators, the project team assists the development of online resources and tools for events and discussion. Participation in the design and building of this community by teachers will encourage the dynamic development of its structure while promoting debate, story-telling, sharing and reflection by participants.

Study of the project will investigate a model of professional development based on creating opportunities for teachers to talk, share and gain help whilst participating in curriculum projects using telecommunications.

The project began with initial consultation, planning and development of infrastructure for a community of Australian teachers to meet online using lists and the World Wide Web. Australian teachers planning and building a place on the Internet to meet their needs. This is facilitated by a project team who will constantly seek input from teachers.

The project team consists of:
Lindy McKeown, a teacher contracted as Project Officer, Michelle Williams, Michael Ryan and Peter Kendal, Lecturers in Computer Education at Queensland University of Technology.
All are active members within the Queensland Society for information Technology in Education (QSITE) with interests across primary and secondary curriculum and teacher professional development.

Background

Underpinning the development of oz-TeacherNet has been a set of Core Beliefs that has driven activity and shaped the infrastructure. These Core Beliefs are:

• The trend away from releasing teachers during teaching time to engage in professional development means that more flexible access to professional development activities is required.Involvement in an electronic community is one way of increasing the opportunities available to teachers seeking professional development.

• There should be an electronic community for teachers which is distinctly Australian.

• An electronic community should not be seen as a one-stop shop for teacher's professional development but should be integrated with, and provide links to, professional development activities provided by other agents such as employing authorities and professional organisations.

• Electronic communities have the potential to support the professional development efforts of other agencies by providing extension activities such as access to key aspects of conferences for those who cannot physically attend, encouraging extended discussion of key issues that arise from conferences and other professional development activities, increasing the number of people who can interact with visiting experts, keeping in touch with what others are doing.

• The approach is to focus on connecting teachers to other teachers - a teachers first approach.

• The role of the project team is to provide a structure in which it will be possible to conduct events, encourage reflection and sharing, and generate activity. In doing this, the project team will attempt to encourage teacher ownership of the space and provide opportunities for teachers to determine how the space develops.

• This project will help to provide a pathway through the Internet to enable Australian teachers to connect with each other for the purpose of sharing experiences.

• Teachers see curriculum as their core business.

• Electronic communities will only continue to be supported by teachers if they are grounded in teacher practices.

• oz-TeacherNet is a cross-curriculum place and not just a place for technology teachers.

• oz-TeacherNet is a national cross-systemic place for preschool, primary and secondary teachers and other people interested in P-12 education.

oz-TeacherNet

The web site also provides a gathering place for information, resources and publications relevant to curriculum projects and the project participants as well as pointers to other projects, archives of email lists, and links to education departments and teacher professional associations.

URL http://owl.qut.edu.au/oz-teachernet/

Curriculum Projects

• Australian Curriculum Projects Registry 1996

  Teachers working with teachers.

  The Registry helps Australian teachers find telecommunications projects to meet curriculum goals. It provides a central place for advertising curriculum projects that use telecommunications. It complements other advertising methods such a email lists and paper based communications.

• oz-Projects

  A special set of curriculum projects called oz-Projects have additional resources are available including email discussion lists for teachers, an electronic magazine and web sites that allow sharing of resources and classroom management strategies as well as providing technical support.

Publishing

• Tucker Box

  Teachers writing for teachers.

  This electronic magazine tells the stories of Australian teachers using telecommunications. It has created an Australian place for teachers to publish online allowing them to share with other teachers their experiences. Topics include connections, curriculum and information skills.

  Editor... David Pedwell

Electronic Mailing Lists

• Electronic mail lists

  Teachers talking to teachers.

  The development of a number of email lists will facilitate discussion and sharing by groups of teachers, allowing teachers to help other teachers and providing feedback to the project team in planning projects and meeting resource needs.

  The general teachers list is called oz-teachers.

  To join address an email message to

  
  majordomo@owl.qut.edu.au

  With the message

  
  subscribe oz-teachers

  To send mail to the members of the list, address messages to

  
  oz-teachers@owl.qut.edu.au

  
  
• An index of lists for Australian teachers is also available.

• The Forum

  Teachers debating issues

  This is a discussion place for issues and topics of general interest to teachers. Discussions may be for short periods of up to a month and focus on a single topic or become long term discussions for special interest groups. Access is via the oz-TeacherNet web site. Teachers anywhere in Australia can initiate a discussion using an online form.

Conclusion

• Join the oz-teachers list.

• Participate in a forum.

• Bookmark the web site.

• Participate in an oz-project.

• Share your experiences.

• Publish an article in Tucker Box.

• Register your project.

Copyright