As part of the BYOD Project a visit to Microsoft took place to explore solutions and strategies for us to use with our students.

Teachers working on the BYOD Project engaged with external educational and technological professionals from Microsoft Head Office and InSynch to further develop professional knowledge and practice in relation to the implementation of Microsoft 365 in school. 

As a team, teachers explored the ways in which new software programs could be used to develop knowledge, skills, problem solving and critical and creative thinking in students. 

Teachers experimented with new software programs, and collaboratively assessed the effectiveness of these programs in supporting students’ understanding, engagement and achievement. 
​
Teachers participated in professional learning to further update their skills and to address targeted technology priorities in the school and the DEC as a whole. 
As a team, teachers fostered professional networks between Epping Boys High, Microsoft and partner companies with the intention to improve teaching and learning. ​

Create an app to teach the community about sustainable practices they can implement in their home.

​Review existing apps about sustainability
Do a quick online search to find available apps about sustainability or more specifically about your topic. If the apps are free you might like to download them and try them out. If the apps costs money you might choose to read reviews about the apps rather than pay for them. Are these apps enjoyable, informative or entertaining?  What are the positive aspects of the apps? Are there some aspects which could be improved? 

Brainstorm app ideas
As a group, write down all of your ideas for creating your own app. Try to be original and innovative. Include all of your ideas, even the ones that might seem silly. Brainstorming allows you to get a whole range of ideas down on paper before narrowing your ideas down to the best and most practical options. 

Use the app scaffold to design your app
Once you have developed your idea you can start to plan how it will unfold on-screen. In the app scaffold, plan the screen displays of your app. Keep the screen simple, rather than including too much text or complex visuals. Remember that you will also need an app icon.

Write the content for your app
Once you have decided on the structure of your app it is time to develop the content (or text). How much detail do you want to include? What is the purpose of the app? Write your content, and then read it several times and edit it. Text in an online format should have short sentences. If you use complex words they should link to a definition on another screen. 

Source or make your images
What images will you need for your app? You might be able to find some copyright free images from Wikicommons or similar sites, but you will still need to give attribution. This means that you will need to say somewhere in your app where you obtained the images from. You may choose to use a graphics software program to create your own images. Programs you could use include Photoshop and Fireworks.

Create an app map
Before you start to build your app it is a good ideas to map out how each of the screen link together. Create a diagram with boxes and arrows to show how the app will work. 

Create your app
If you are short on time or you aren't very technologically proficient, you may choose to display your ideas for an app in PowerPoint or Captivate. If you would like an extra challenge, you may choose to actually build your app. You can use AppsBar, Google App Inventor, iBuildApp or Appsme.

Resources
You may find the following links helpful in helping you to build your app.
Apps in Education: App Building Tools for Teachers and Students
A great tool for students to create their own Android apps
App Maker for iPhone and Android
Coding in the Classroom: 10 tools students can use to design apps and video games

​Create a 5 minute video about sustainability in the Epping community.

​Review short films about sustainability
Do a quick online search to find short videos about sustainability or more specifically about your topic. Are these videos enjoyable, informative or entertaining?  What are the positive aspects of the videos? Are there some aspects which could be improved? 

Brainstorm video ideas
As a group, write down all of your ideas for creating your own video. Try to be original and innovative. Include all of your ideas, even the ones that might seem silly. Brainstorming allows you to get a whole range of ideas down on paper before narrowing your ideas down to the best and most practical options. 

Use the scaffold to plan your video
Once you have developed your idea you can start to plan how it will unfold on-screen. In the video scaffold, plan the scenes of your video. Try not to make each scene too long. You want to make sure that the viewer does not become bored. 

Write your script
Once you have a rough idea of the sequence of your scenes it is time to develop your script. The script should include all of the dialogue for the video, information about the setting, the different characters and basic information about movement and actions.


Create your video
Learn your script or create cue cards. Film each scene several times so that you have some flexibility when you edit your video. Use video editing software to create your video.
Resources

The following resources may help you create your video. You will find tutorials to help you use video making software and articles to help you write your actual script. 

Best free video editing software: 9 top programs you should download
How to create a movie from start to finish with iMovie
How to use Windows Movie Maker: 10 Steps
7 rules for writing short films
How to write a good short film script
The short guide to making an awesome short - Part 1: Scripting

Review games about sustainability
Do an online search to find available games about sustainability or more specifically about your topic. If the games are free you might like to download them and try them out. If the games costs money you might choose to read reviews about the games rather than pay for them. Are these games enjoyable, informative or entertaining?  What are the positive aspects of the games? Are there some aspects which could be improved? 

Brainstorm game ideas
As a group, write down all of your ideas for creating your own game. Try to be original and innovative. Include all of your ideas, even the ones that might seem silly. Brainstorming allows you to get a whole range of ideas down on paper before narrowing your ideas down to the best and most practical options. 

Plan and visually map the game
Once you have developed your idea you can start to plan how it will unfold on-screen. In the game scaffold, plan the levels or scenes of your game. Start to think about the rules and scoring for the game. Consider how you will integrate information about sustainability and/or your specific topic.

Build a prototype
Build a prototype of your game. You might choose to use a program such as Scratch, Monogame, Phaser or Flixel. Ensure that you game has information about sustainability integrated into it.

Play test the game
Ask your friends to play your game and give you feedback. Consider their points and think about what changes might be necessary for the game to make it better. Keep in mind that a game must be enjoyable to play to be successful. 

Refine the game
Make revisions to your game based on the feedback you have received.
Resources

You might like to use the following resources to help you create your game.

Scratch
Game Develop

​Review existing sustainable products or initiatives
Research and review sustainable products and initiatives that already exist. How have the products or strategies improved sustainability? Are these products or initiatives effective? Do they need improvement? What lessons could you learn from these products or initiatives? What are some aspects of sustainability that haven't yet been addressed? 

Brainstorm new products or initiatives
As a group, write down all of your ideas for creating your new sustainable product or initiative. Try to be original and innovative. Include all of your ideas, even the ones that might seem silly. Brainstorming allows you to get a whole range of ideas down on paper before narrowing your ideas down to the best and most practical options. Consider the weaknesses of existing sustainable products and initiatives and try to come up with original solutions to these problems. 

Use the scaffold to plan your product or initiative
Once you have developed your idea you can start to plan your design and how it will be augmented. What will be the purpose and design of your product or initiative? What places will you use is the "context" (keep in mind that the teachers marking your product will need to see your augmented reality working)?
Consider how you will integrate information about sustainability and/or your specific topic. Use the augmented reality scaffold to help you plan your city.

In teaching, you don't have time to do everything and know everything you need to. That is why it is imperative that you make use of other teachers' knowledge. A Professional Learning Network will allow you to get the most up-to-date resources, best advice and time saving tips. I am currently faculty where only one or two of us use social networking for education purposes. Most of faculty don't really use it at all. This post is really for people who are in this category. If you found this post through twitter or Facebook or the like, then you aren't going to learn anything new here.

People you already know
I have always found it amazing that some people in a faculty or school will share everything while others will share nothing. My theory is that if you want to encourage other people to share then you need to show them how it is done. Start with your faculty and any teachers you already know - share your email address and ensure that you swap resources regularly. Once you start emailing copies of some of your handouts, programs, etc other teachers will start doing the same. For older staff introduce them to shared drives, cloud storage or whatever will work to get them sharing. Keep in mind that some people may not share because the technological side of things is too daunting. Make it easy for them and try not to get frustrated - otherwise you may miss out on a great resource.

Professional Associations
Join groups like GTANSW, EBE, WESSSTA and MESSTA. Each group will have strengths and weaknesses and may focus more heavily on one subject or specific year groups. The more memberships you have the greater your exposure to all of this information. Also the more you get involved the more you can influence these groups to provide anything that you think is missing. Click on the titles below to find out more about each association:

Geography Teachers Association of NSW
History Teachers Association of NSW
Western Sydney Social Science Teachers Association Inc
Legal Studies Association of NSW Inc
Economic and Business Educators

Social Networking
Social networking, particularly twitter is a great way to connect with other teachers locally and from around the world. You can use social networking to connect with specialists in your field. For example, if you are a History teacher you might subscribe or follow @archaeologynews and get the most recent updates about excavations around the world. You might also find it useful to subscribe or follow general blogs or tweets about teaching in general. DEC and TAFE staff can use Maang/Yammer, but I think most educators prefer Twitter. There are also a range of Facebook groups for teachers of certain subjects. A particularly active group is Geography Teachers Online, but there are many others. Don't forget to use tools like Skype and Google hangouts to connect with people and share ideas. 

Corporate feeds
Subscribe to corporate feeds from the DEC and BOSTES. You can do this using your email, Twitter, Facebook or a range of other social networking sites. You can also subscribe to organisations related to your specific subject such as WWF or Greenpeace.

Unions
You should also have a good knowledge of your rights and responsibilities. You can do this by staying up to date with union news through email subscriptions, the regular hard-copy publications and meetings at your school and within your region. When you first begin your career it can seem expensive to be part of the union, but it is important that you make yourself aware of what it offers.  You should also download a copy of the most recent Award as this sets out core hours you need to be on the premises, breaks that you are entitled to, behaviours that are acceptable, etc.
For the NSW Teachers Federation (DEC schools) visit the website: http://www.nswtf.org.au/
For the Independent Education Union for NSW/ACT (non-DEC schools) visit their website: http://www.ieu.asn.au

I was lucky enough to attend the first ever TM Geography a couple of weeks ago. The teachmeet was held at Saint Ignatius' College on Monday 5 and was hosted by Jessica Lonard. 

Using infographics in assessment
Jessica Lonard, our host, began the presentations with a presentation on how to use infographics in assessment of student learning. The room was decorated with examples of her students' work. There are a range of programs that can be used to create these infographics. One of the easiest is Picktochart. Other programs include Infogr.am, visual.ly, and easel.ly.

For further information you might like to check out 10 free tools for creating infographics.

Spotlight - ABS
Sharon McLean presented a session on Spotlight from the Australian Bureau of Statistics which I have discussed in a previous blog: Australia's Population. This program brings population statistics about Australia to life by presenting them in a fun interactive voiced by Shaun Micallef.

Flipping the geography classroom
Ryan Gill presented a session about the challenges and successes of flipping his classroom including creating the videos, winning over parents and keeping students engaged. Flipping the classroom is a strategy where students are exposed to new material outside of the classroom through the use of videos, readings, etc and then class time is used to consolidate the new learning through activities such as discussions, problem solving and debates. 

Google Tour builder
Mick Law from Contour Education showed us the latest and greatest mapping tools, concentrating mainly on the new Google Tour Builder. This seems to be a much simpler way to create a virtual tour than through Google Earth. 

Nearpod
Kate Corcoran showed us how she uses Nearpod in her classroom. Nearpod is a program that allows you to set up interactive quizzes and surveys and enables sharing between groups. Students log into a group and can access the resources that the teacher has made available to them on their devices. The teacher can control the students' screen while they are part of the group. 

Thinglink
Thinglink is a site which enables you to create interactive images. Di Laycock showed us how you can add comments, images, videos and music to create a multimedia experience from a still image. 

Creating virtual field sites
I went through the process of creating a virtual field site to give students access to field sites which they would not otherwise be able to experience. This is done by combining videos, photos, google tours, and links to articles all combined with the use of a blog site or website builder like weebly.

Twitter: #tmgeography