Netbooks @ Geelong East PS

Obstacles –

• Age of students- Sign up age for most social networking sites is 13.• Privacy- School restrictions on student privacy.• Technical problems- Netbook faults meant some students couldn’t access the blog.• Commitment from other school and commitments to camps etc

Meetings

•In order to facilitate meetings between the two schools, we used Microsoft Communicator to meet and discuss ideas and issues via webcam.

Enthusiasm

•During blogging lessons students were extremely enthusiastic and motivated. They remained focused on tasks, and over time, their enthusiasm has not waned.•Learning anywhere, anytime- Students accessed the blog out of school hours and on weekends.

Reflection -

•Student outcomes in literacy improved.•Teachers involved in the project were exposed to new teaching tools, technology and ideas.•Learning was focussed at student level •Collaborating with another school can be problematic!