First day of workshops

Great start to our ICT workshops today at SMP Junior High School in Sembalun, Lombok, Indonesia.

Today’s workshop was the start of a five-day workshop I’m running for the teachers at this school on the ways in which ICT can support teacher professional learning. I’m specifically looking at how ICT can support teacher participation in Online Learning Communities and facilitate an expansion of teacher subject knowledge through the internet. I’m looking at how both of these factors may enhance teacher professional learning in a rural Indonesian context!

Today was mainly introducing teachers to ICT itself, the broad uses of ICT for teacher professional development, the workshop and the aims and purpose of my thesis.

The workshop began with a detailed introduction to my thesis using a Prezi presentation I prepared earlier (Prezi is a great alternative to powerpoint!). I also provided teachers with an explanatory document (written in Indonesian) outlining exactly what the workshops will entail, all details of their involvement and the aims and purpose of my thesis research. I then addressed teachers’ questions regarding this, some of which were:

– What specifically are the obstacles and goals regarding ICT that you want to try and overcome?

– We would like to know the benefits of ICT for both students and teachers

– Is there huge importance placed on blogging and ICT for teachers in Australia? Are teachers paid to attend ICT workshops?

– Why have some of our blogs deactivated? Can we study blogs more?

All great questions to start I thought!

Reading the explanatory document I provided outlining the purpose of my thesis and what participating in the research will include (workshops and interviews)

After addressing these questions, I then went on to emphasize three words which I consider crucial to the effectiveness of the workshops for the next week:

– Mistakes (it’s important to make them so we can learn and move forward)

– Questions (no such thing as a stupid question) and

– Honesty (the workshop can’t be effective if any concerns/difficulties which arise aren’t communicated to me, and that constructive criticism is needed and will not be taken as an offense!)

We all agreed that for the workshop to be effective, all three need to be present throughout this week.

Three very important words!

As recommended by the teacher I met on the plane (see previous post), we then did a ‘KWL’ exercise, which is exploring what teachers KNOW about teacher professional learning (K), what they WANT to know (W), and what they have LEARNED (L). We made a mind map using the Mind Meister website and brainstormed the ‘K’ and the ‘W’, and will return to the ‘L’ at the conclusion of the workshops as a reflection activity. This mind map was important in establishing a foundation of what teachers already know about teacher professional learning and identifying the areas teachers considered important to explore.

Teachers broke into groups to discuss the ‘K’ and the ‘W’, then came to the computer at the front of the class and individually added their thoughts to our Mind Meister mind map! I projected the computer screen onto the front wall of the classroom so all could follow what was being written.

Brainstorming activity on what teachers ‘K’ (know) about teacher professional learning

Some more brainstorming

 

Brainstorming on the ‘W’ – want to know about teacher professional learning

When brainstorming the ‘K’ (what teachers already know about teacher professional learning), some of the teachers’ responses were (translated from Indonesian) :

– Teacher professional learning is achieved through activities organised by the education office

– Teacher professional learning is important to allow teachers to participate in a globalised world of information

– Teacher professional learning is important to enhance professional outlooks on learning

– By using ICT for professional learning, teachers can become creative and spread information of recent educational developments

– Teacher professional development is currently limited by what is dictated in educational syllabuses, there isn’t enough opportunity yet to take advantage of ICT for teacher professional learning. Teachers have to source information themselves and pay to participate in professional learning activities. There aren’t adequate facilities at the district or provincial government levels for a teacher conference… In the coming days, Sembalun can become a pilot project which can transform teachers from having no experience in global educational technologies, which previously only seemed like a dream, but now is possible – many things can come from having a vision.

Making our Mind Meister Map

Watching on as a teacher adds his thoughts to our Mind Meister map

Adding a comment to our Mind Meister mind map !!

When brainstorming what teachers wanted to learn, some of the responses were as follows (translated from Indonesian)

– How can we limit the time we spend writing on our blogs to make sure we don’t spend too much time on them, and how can we know whether our blogs are working or not?

– How can we remember our passwords for our email because we always forget. How do we convince our friends on Facebook that it is actually us?

– How can we connect with teachers around the world through our various blogs? Do we do this through the internet or through our blogs?

– What are some online tools we can use to know how to log in to WiFi?

I then launched into introducing the topic of professional knowledge expansion through the internet with a PowerPoint presentation and video from Ted.com on ICT-derived benefits for teacher professional learning globally.

Tomorrow will be very practice-based with lots of collaborative activities on the use of Blogs and emailing (re-cap from last year’s workshop as per multiple requests from teachers), as well as introductions to Twitter and Skype chat rooms. We’ll also be using Google and other educational websites to search for educational materials which teachers can practically apply to their classrooms as a follow-on from today. If we have time, I’ll also be explaining the use of Facebook for professional networking.

All of the activities in the workshops have been designed by myself after extensive research and multiple conversations with teachers, lecturers and educational professionals both in Indonesian and Australia.