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Choosing Resources

When I applied for the Digital Technologies position, I knew I wanted to develop a course that involved creating physical digital outcomes but it wasn't until I started actually planning what this would look like that I realised how many resources and options are out there! There are a multitude of microprocessors and components on the market as well as robotics kits like Lego Mindstorms and Edison, down to Sphero and Cozmo. I knew what I wanted to achieve in my programme, the challenge after choosing a focus was deciding which products would be the best tools to help with this. When it came to crunch my three major specifications for the products I chose where that they had to have good online support in terms of lesson plans, projects and ideas. Secondly they needed to be open-ended enough that students could be creative and develop their own ideas with them. The third specification was that I could purchase everything I needed in one go as a kit or from a salesperson who kne...

Learning through play

I had hoped to write a blog every week, but it's half way through week 5 of term 1 today and I've only managed one blog! Time sure flies when you're having fun! And we sure have been having fun! I hope to get a blog written this weekend about how I have started the year! 

My new journey into teaching Digital Technologies

This year I have taken on a new challenge! After ten years of teaching Year 7 & 8 homerooms (with a couple of babies and a study break thrown in) I decided it was time for a change. When the TiC Digital Technologies position came up towards the end of last year I decided to take the leap and thankfully my principal took the leap of faith with me! I've been running our GATE programme for 4 years and a large component of that has been facilitating a team to enter the First Lego League tournament using EV3 technology, so I'd dabbled in robotics and really enjoyed it and seen the amazing learning the students had taken from the experience. I saw this new challenge as an opportunity to take this amazing learning medium and provide the opportunity to more students given 2018 sees the introduction of the new Digital Technologies curriculum. Again, luckily my principal and BOT shared this vision and were able to provide the resources necessary to get us set up to deliver my visio...