Technology

Academic

Aconsiderable challenge for the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) department is to provide opportunities for the integration of ICT into the curriculum and the classroom. Teachers are experts in their subject area and they are encouraged to work with ICT experts to use technology where it might improve the teaching and learning experience. We have been offering the year eight integrated course for a number of years and this year we have extended the program into year nine. Students in year eight have been using computers to create advanced spreadsheets in mathematics, Internet web sites for a Society and Environment project and interactive graphics for an English project. In year nine, we have been using the new MyClasses software. MyClasses is a K-12 Virtual Learning Environment, which includes class pages, Learning Object Viewers, e-learning portfolios and a content repository for storing and managing resources. It will allow teachers to create digital class pages for each of their subjects that are viewable by the students in that class. Students and teachers can access these pages from home because MyClasses is available over the Internet. MyClasses also provides teachers with access to The Learning Federation, a government-funded project to produce web based curriculum resources. Tofacilitate the integration of ICT into the curriculum Roger Blatchford has moved to the position of Learning Technology Coordinator and together with Rosemary Horton, our teacher librarian, they have been providing the expertise in the classroom. Roger and

Mr William Quartermaine

Head of Information and Communication Technology Rosemary have a wealth of teaching and computing experience. They have been working closely with teachers by providing exciting opportunities to use current technologies in their teaching. ICT improvements for 2003 include the provision of a computer laboratory with twenty workstations to the mathematics department. The mathematics department use technology extensively in their teaching and the computer is an important tool in delivering many of their courses. We will be looking to extend this model in the future by providing key Learning Areas with computer laboratories that they can manage and use to integrate technology into their curriculum. Weare very lucky at Trinity to have outstanding personnel in the ICT department. The department requires people with great diversity of skill and depth of knowledge to manage the complex technical environment in a school. Thank you to Mr. Warwick Gaff (help desk technician); Mr. Richard Cackett (teacher and Web Manager); Mr. Roger Blatchford (teacher and Learning Technology Coordinator); Mrs Rosemary Horton (Teacher Librarian) and Mr Ray Kosovich (teacher). Also, I am pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Neil Seaman as Trinity Network Manager. Neil has been working in the ICT industry for many years and he brings to Trinity a very high level of technical skill and a wealth of experience.