ICT Education Newsletter, September Edition
Hi,
Welcome to this Newsletter about the latest developments in ICT Education for Teachers at Charles Sturt University.
In This Edition:
- Preparing for the Digital Education Revolution
- Who needs a Summer Holiday anyway?
- CSU meets demand for new technical teachers
- Walking the Talk
- Education Research at CSU
- Adobe and Microsoft Scholarships
cheers,
Martin Hale
Adjunct Senior Lecturer - Charles Sturt University
Chief Executive Officer - IT Masters Pty Ltd
Preparing for the Digital Education Revolution
Wondering how to prepare for the Rudd Government’s $1 billion digital education rollout?
How about undertaking a course of study that:
- Gives you the skills to integrate the applications incorporated in the digital education laptop rollout into your classroom
- Allows you to study in the comfort of your own home
- Is a fully accredited postgraduate qualification
- Qualifies graduates for advanced standing in our flagship Master of Education
Applications for the summer schools intake our of ICT Education courses close on the 1st of December – Go to www.ictteachers.info for details
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Who needs a Summer Holiday anyway?
For the first time we will be offering teachers the option of fast tracking their ICT Education qualifications by undertaking study over the Summer holidays. The new session 3 (Summer Session) starts on the 23rd of November and finishes in mid February 2010. So … your options over summer are to either:
- expand your waistline by munching through the left over Christmas pudding
or
- expand your mind by studying in our first Summer Session
All of the courses listed at www.ictteachers.info are available for enrolment over the Summer Session.
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CSU meets demand for new technical teachers
Charles Sturt University (CSU) has introduced a new course which aims to bolster the number of teachers in Technology and Applied Studies ahead of predicted shortages in the coming decade.
Associate Professor Rod Francis from the School of Education at Wagga Wagga says that the Bachelor of Education (Technology and Applied Studies) brings together a diverse range of subjects and that students will be trained as secondary school teachers eligible to teach in the newly established Trade Centres in schools.
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Walking the Talk
What is the relevance of Youtube, Facebook, Twitter, Second Life and Webinars in today’s educational environments? In subjects such as ITI568 (Adobe Digital Curriculum I) we have attempted to ‘walk the talk’ by demonstrating how these tools can be used by embedding them in how we deliver the subject. We have been getting some great feedback from Teachers who have studied the subject – go to http://www.ictteachers.info/youtube.html for an introduction to the subject
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Education Research at CSU
Does the absence of tactile elements in a virtual environment inhibit a students' ability to learn?
Amanda Davies, Lecturer in the School of Policing completed her Master of Education in 2007 and has commenced a PhD with the School of Education at CSU. In her Masters research she explored the use of a simulated virtual environment modelled on a fire scene as a tool to help fire investigation students to diagnose the origin and cause of a fire. Amanda described her study as "An evaluation of the subject Fire Investigation Cause and Origin focussed on four different student groups in 2007, with a particular focus on whether the absence of sensory or tactile elements like smoke and vapour affected their learning outcomes. We found that the absence of tactile elements in the virtual environment does not inhibit the students' ability to successfully investigate the virtual burn scene and determine the cause and origin of a structural fire. We actually found that there are benefits to student learning in the virtual environment, including less distraction from the noise and damage, unrestricted access to an uncontaminated scene and the ability of the student to repeatedly revisit the site."
Click here for further details about Amanda’s research.
CSU Vice Chancellor Ian Goulter presenting Amanda Davies with the Vice Chancellor's Award for Teaching Excellence
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Adobe and Microsoft Scholarships
There are x Scholarships available for the Summer study session for Teachers studying any of the courses described at the www.ictteachers.info website. The Scholarships are for $1520 each and open for any Australian, Canadian or New Zealand teachers who meet the course admission requirements and can briefly detail ‘how you feel this scholarship could help you to make a difference to your profession, community and the environment, or how it will help you to achieve best practice’. Scholarships applications close on the 26th October, 2009 – click here for more details.
 
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