[ers] Curriculum Organiser Newsletter #2
- From: "Ian Thompson" <ianthompson@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <ers@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 16 Jun 2006 15:56:58 +0800
Curriculum Organiser LogoNEWSLETTER
May 2006
-- Please forward this newsletter onto your school's teachers for tips,
support, training opportunities, and the latest developments with Curriculum
Organiser --
Host a PD
Each week of the year ERS would like to hold PD for teachers. You can take
advantage of this by offering to host professional development for teachers
and administrators using the Curriculum Organiser onsite at your school.
It's free for up to 10 people attending from your school. You will need to
make a space available and if needed allow access to some desktop systems
for the session from 3.45 to 5pm. It's a great way to provide PD for your
staff and share ideas with others. Talk more about Host a PD or book a day
with Ian. Regional schools can be organised but will need to factor in
travel, accommodation and meals. Each location is different so make sure you
call. We can always organise something.
Holiday PD
We have had many requests from teachers wanting to book ahead for the
holiday sessions. Mark in your diary that the last Friday morning of every
Term Holidays is PD Day for the Curriculum Organiser. Book now if you like.
Cost is $50 per person with discounts for school groups. The venue will most
likely be SIDE in Leederville but is subject to change.
Work Smart with ICT
A trial online list has been set up for teachers to join so they can chat to
others and even share resources. You will receive emails posted to the list
as they occur and can unsubscribe at any time. Send your email address to
Ian (list manager) and he will subscribe you at this point.
Customise CO for IEPs
Several schools are using the Graphic Organiser template as an IEP by:
1 Changing the Theme title for a student name and then cutting and
pasting from either Scope and Sequence sheets appropriate to the student's
needs for each Learning Area then making access available to all staff by
means of the Central Document Set.
2 Taking an Integrated Unit of Work (IUOW) template and again replacing
the theme with a student name but this time cutting and pasting appropriate
outcomes, dynamic strategies from Learning Area Teacher Planners and
altering the context etc to describe the needs and focus for the student.
Do you have another idea? Share it by emailing Ian for the next newsletter
or joining the email list.
You have a notebook. How come ICT is not happening?
The simple reason is that every powerful tool needs constant support and
ongoing professional development. The Curriculum Organiser is much the same
and here at ERS we're moving ahead to meet these demands. The newsletter
will arrive twice a term, Ian is available by mobile phone, email and MSN,
weekly PD in schools starts mid-term 2, holiday PD has started, a discussion
list is ready to trial and we're completely revamping our web site to
include multimedia tutorials. Did you know you can now work towards
accreditation for Curriculum Organiser? Certificates 1 - 5 will take you
from awareness through curriculum leadership and onto writing if that's you
interest. We're also looking to give accreditation to school sites - more on
that in our next newsletter.
Technical Tip - Backing up
Remember to backup your personal document set* (if your 'My Documents'
folder is not located on the schools network server). Rule of thumb is to
back up when ever you're not prepared to do the work over again - save the
agony by backing up! Check your instruction manual in the Welcome section of
Curriculum Organiser.
*Note: Your personal document set is stored under a hidden sub-folder of
your 'My Documents' folder.
Technical Tip - How to add a new page to a teacher planner
Is your typing disappearing below the table? This may happen in some Teacher
Planners as you add to Dynamic Strategies. Rather than reduce the font size
to make it all fit in, click anywhere in the cell at the bottom right-hand
corner of the table you're working on, then press the TAB key. A new blank
page is added for you to keep typing into.
Now that's handy! New, Free Curriculum Material!
We're always looking to save people time. If you would like all the Outcomes
for each Aspect in all Learning Areas in Level 1, 2 and 3 on one page for
each Level, send Ian an email. It's that easy. Hopefully I'll follow up on
another idea from an administrator in one of our schools by then and be able
to send you the Level 1/2, 2/3 and 3/4 so they match the Teacher planners
too. These resources have been very popular in defining curriculum roadmaps
for school improvement. It's reassuring to know where you are and what's
coming when it comes to this seemingly endless task.
Thankyou!
You're helping to spread the word about Curriculum Organiser. Please keep
telling others about how much time and energy is being saved when you get
your curriculum organised. We hear so many stories about teachers who have
welcomed the Curriculum Organiser and regained some sense of control over
their teaching lives. Please spread the word. Forward our newsletter to a
colleague.
But who's got the time?
ERS has been customising document sets for schools since it launched the
Curriculum Organiser. Teachers are busy people and we live in an information
rich world. It's not that teachers don't want to use resources, but more a
case of having time to commit to exploring, evaluating, selecting,
modifying, linking and writing into their plans the vast array of resources
in the library, online, shared drive, portal etc. Wouldn't it help if you
contracted ERS to integrate your valuable resources directly into teacher
planners and integrated units of works? You could then distribute them out
to teachers at the push of a button! Yes, it can be that simple. Benefits
include lowering of teacher frustration (they know what needs to be done but
not how to do it), increased use of ICT because it's part of their daily
teaching (not administration) routine and refreshed curriculum as new
approaches are provided ready to use to teachers already linked to outcomes.
Take one hour out of your day to save hundreds by talking to Ian about this
cost effective service.
Curriculum Leadership
We're finding schools that train up a Central Document Set coordinator to
manage the school's curriculum "brains trust" (by way of the Central
Document Set) are having far more success than others at ongoing curriculum
development at school level. In many cases the best person for the job has
been a Deputy Principal or Level Three Teacher. It's not something to do in
your spare time but something ERS will help you to set up, train and support
within your current school management plan. Contact Ian for details on how
to make Curriculum Organiser work for your school.
How does our Newsletter read?
This is our third. Please email Ian with ideas for topics you'd like covered
and feedback on how useful it is to you. Also, what would you like the
Curriculum Organiser to include in future versions? We do listen - one
teacher was brave enough to suggest a close all files button for quick exit.
Sounded too good to happen, but it can be and we're now working towards
including this feature. As someone once said, "the only silly question is
the one you don't ask."
Have a wonderfully productive term. Education is our future and people
working in schools are the key to our future.
School Contact Details
We can offer more support if we know the key curriculum contact in your
school responsible for managing the Curriculum Organiser.
Click
<mailto:support@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx?subject=Key%20Curriculum%20Contact%
20Details&body=School:%0D%0AName:%0D%0APosition:%0D%0AEmail:%0D%0ATel:%0D%0A
Mob:%0D%0ASubscribe%20to%20newsletter:%20Yes> here to email us your
contact's details.
Contacts
Click the contact to send an email.
<mailto:robinclarke@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> Robin Clarke, Director
<mailto:ianthompson@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> Ian Thompson, School
Development
<mailto:support@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> Technical Support
<mailto:masonclarke@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> Accounts
<mailto:cheri@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> Administration and Orders
Education Research Solutions
<http://www.educationresearch.com.au/> www.educationresearch.com.au
Tel (08) 9249 2402
Mob 0417 987 462
Fax (08) 9249 4949
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