Grants+Braes+Milestone+5

Name of School: Grant’s Braes School Name of lead teacher: Kay Masters

Since the beginning of 2008 all rooms have developed wikispaces to share students learning with parents. The purchase of a digital camera for each room has supported this initiative and encouraged the development of related skills for both staff and pupils. Many classes have been creating animation sequences, and powerpoint reports. [|www.weareroom1.wikispaces.com], [|www.weareroom2.wikispaces.com] [|www.weareroom3.wikispaces.com], [|www.room4gbs.wikispaces.com], [|www.room5gbs.wikispaces.com], [|www.room6gbs.wikispaces.com], [|www.room7gbs.wikispaces.com], Now with wireless in the school a staff PD session using an application such as skrbl is a viable option for brainstorming sessions. All staff have laptops through the TELA scheme and these are networked to the school domain. This has enabled greater communication between home and school with the use of email directly to the teacher rather than through the general class address. It hads also enabled a greater use and experimentation of the school SMS, eTAP, for planning and assessment. While this SMS is new to all staff, there is a lot of trial and error learning taking place. Other areas being trialled with the SMS are the roll application and the generation of school wide reports. The inquiry approach to teaching has also been used in the school. After viewing the progress of two other cluster schools, the availability of powerpoint teaching reaources on the cluster website and other workshop opportunities both syndicates have undertaken planning and implementing this approach. The senior syndicate are now well into their second full term unit and the junior syndicate are working their way through their second unit too. All staff have been involved in cluster workshops so far this year including the introduction sessions for new members to the cluster, workshops on developing wikispaces, and on using photobucket,

Overall it has been a positive beginning to the years ICT PD programme.